Sri Vijaya Puram, November 4: At least 57 Indian Americans are set to contest the United States midterm elections, with candidates seeking positions ranging from the US Senate and House of Representatives to governorships, state legislatures and local government bodies. The contests span several states, placing Indian-origin candidates in a range of closely watched electoral battles.
According to an IANS tally, the candidates include one contender for the US Senate, 11 for the House of Representatives, three for statewide offices, 36 for state legislatures and six for local positions. The count includes only those candidates whose Indian heritage could be independently confirmed. Another 15 potential candidates of Indian origin have been excluded because their heritage could not be verified.
Among the most closely watched contests is the Ohio gubernatorial race, where Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is challenging Democrat Amy Acton. The FiftyPlusOne polling average on Sunday placed Acton approximately three percentage points ahead, making the contest one of the prominent races involving an Indian American candidate.
In Los Angeles, City Council member Nithya Raman is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The final poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, in association with the Los Angeles Times, placed both candidates at 40 per cent, with 19 per cent of voters remaining undecided.
New York is witnessing another high-profile contest, with Republican Saritha Komatireddy challenging incumbent Attorney General Letitia James. A Siena poll released on October 28 showed James leading with 54 per cent support against Komatireddy’s 39 per cent.
In Maryland, Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller, a Democrat, is seeking another term on the Democratic ticket against a Republican ticket that includes Dan Cox. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, Shiva Ayyadurai is contesting the US Senate election as an independent against incumbent Democratic Senator Ed Markey.
House Races
The House of Representatives contests feature 11 Indian American candidates, including four incumbent Democrats seeking re-election: Ro Khanna and Ami Bera from California, Pramila Jayapal from Washington state and Suhas Subramanyam from Virginia.
Two constituencies have drawn particular attention because they feature Indian American candidates contesting against each other.
In California’s 17th Congressional District, Khanna faces Republican Ritesh Tandon, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. In Washington state’s 7th Congressional District, Jayapal is challenged by Republican Nirav Sheth, a Gujarat-born former US Marine.
However, both constituencies are considered safe for the Democratic candidates by the Cook Political Report and other election forecasters.
Democrats Amish Shah in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District and Pia Dandiya in Florida’s 22nd District are contesting open seats considered competitive by political forecasters.
Other candidates include Republican Mahesh “Max” Ganorkar in North Carolina’s 4th District and independent candidates Sandeep Dixit in Ohio’s 13th District and Anil Kumar in Michigan’s 11th District.
Campaign Funding
Campaign finance disclosures indicate that financial activity continued in the final days before voting.
Floridians for Affordability, a newly formed political action committee, reported spending approximately $14,000 on text messages supporting Dandiya on October 30. This brought its reported total spending in support of her campaign to around $220,000, according to a 24-hour independent expenditure report filed on October 31.
Shah’s campaign, meanwhile, reported receiving 15 contributions totalling $26,000 on October 30. Its campaign disclosures for contributions received between October 25 and October 30 showed approximately $100,000 across six filings, according to an IANS tally.
The Federal Election Commission disclosures are self-reported and may be amended.
State And Local Contests
Beyond the federal races, Indian American candidates are contesting 36 state legislative positions across 22 states. California, Illinois and New York have the highest representation, with four candidates each.
At the local level, the candidates include Sim Gill, the Salt Lake County District Attorney in Utah, who is seeking another term; Oakland City Council member Janani Ramachandran; and Rohit Malhotra, who is contesting a seat on the Fulton County Commission in Georgia.
The spread of candidates across federal, state and local elections reflects the growing presence of Indian Americans in the US political landscape, with this election cycle bringing them into contests at multiple levels of government.
The United States midterm elections are scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, with voters deciding congressional seats and several state and local positions. The results will determine the political balance in Congress and shape leadership across state and local administrations.
