By Jayujyoti Mullick
Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi lost the Democratic primary for Illinois Senate to Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. However, he conceded gracefully as he joked that, unlike President Donald Trump, he was not going to question the poll results. In his concession speech, he profoundly said it was not the result he expected, but he accepted the fact that he is an immigrant with 29 letters in his name. Thereafter, he thanked everyone who supported him.
“I thank the many local Democratic leaders and county chairs across the state who had the courage to defy the party establishment and endorse the candidate with 29 letters in his name. In the classic Chicago story, I’m the guy nobody sent to be their senator… this campaign may be over, but my gratitude and friendship will be forever,” he said.
His full name is Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi, which actually is 29 letters in total. Raja Raja Krishnamoorthi mentioned that his donors had enabled him to compete against very wealthy interests, which was a subtle taunt at the Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker.
READ: Raja Krishnamoorthi falls short in historic Senate bid as Juliana Stratton wins Illinois Primary (
Raja Krishnamoorthi is presently serving Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, with one year remaining in his term. “I will have almost a year remaining in the best job I’ve ever had, representing the good people of Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, and I pledge to you tonight that I will continue to do that job to the best of my ability to fight for the kind of country we all still believe in,” he added.
Raja Krishnamoorthi had the best chance to become the first Indian national senator from Illinois and the second Indian American senator in the United States after Kamala Harris.
“Only in America can an immigrant with twenty-nine letters in his name go from public housing and food stamps to the halls of Congress. I will continue to fight for our country, the greatest on Earth, to make the United States of America the kind of country we all still believe in,” Krishnamoorthi also mentioned on his social media platform X, run by Elon Musk.
READ: Raja Krishnamoorthi warns against DHS ‘Bounty Hunter’ plan (
Raja Krishnamoorthi’s loss came as a blow to the Indian American community. However, the mystery of why he lost the vigilantly monitored Primary was raised by the community. “Raja Krishnamoorthi – Princeton, Harvard Law, 4 terms in Congress, $30M raised – is losing the Illinois Senate primary tonight.
An Indian American did everything right and it still wasn’t enough. Why?” Indian American Advocacy Council co-founder Sidharth wrote on his social media platform.
Raja Krishnamoorthi has been a Democratic representative in the US House of Representatives since 2017. Born in New Delhi in 1973 and relocated to the United States in his early childhood growing up in Illinois. He continued his education at Princeton University. He also studied at Harvard Law School and later established a career as a lawyer, public servant, and business leader before making a transition into politics. Raja Krishnamoorthi is married to Priya Krishnamoorthi, who is a physician, and they are parents to three children.