As the world woke up to Donald Trump’s triumph on Wednesday, six Indian-Americans claimed their seats in the US Congress.

Adding to the already existing Congresswomen and men, Indian-American lawyer Suhas Subramanyam created history by becoming the first from the community to be elected from Virginia.

List of Indian-American winners 

Suhas Subramanyam

In his constituency, Virginia’s 10th District, Subramnyam had 52.1% of the votes to 47.9% for his Republican rival with 97% of the votes counted.

Subramnyam, a lawyer with a degree from Northwestern University, has his roots in Bengaluru and Chennai. 

Taking to X, he said, “I am honoured and humbled that the people of Virginia’s 10th District put their trust in me to take on the toughest fights and deliver results in Congress. This district is my home. I got married here, my wife Miranda and I are raising our daughters here, and the issues our community faces are personal to our family. It is an honour to continue serving this district in Washington.”

Ro Khanna

Another Democratic leader Ro Khanna (Rohit Khanna) secured a second term in the US House, defeating Republican challenger Anita Chen in California’s 17th Congressional District.

Khanna, an Indian- American lawyer with roots in Punjab, served as the US representative from California’s 17th Congressional District since 2017.

Shri Thanedar

Congressman Shri Thanedar defeated Republican Martell Bivings with 68.3% votes in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.

Thanedar served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. Now a businessman, author and politician, Thanedar was born in a low-income family in Belgaum, Karnataka.

“Everywhere I go, constituents always come up to me and tell me how my office helped them with their immigration issues, secure a visa, get veterans benefits, get their tax returns, etc. That is a testament to my team and I couldn't be prouder of all their hard work and how effective we are in serving our constituents,” said Thanedar on Nov 5.

Pramila Jayapal 

Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal claimed a landslide victory with 85% votes and defeated Dan Alexander.

Jayapal was the first Indian-American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives. Her political career started in 2016 when she announced her candidacy for Congress in Washington's 7th congressional district.

Ami Bera

An American physician and member of the Democratic Party defeated the Republican Party's Christine Bish with 56.8% votes in California's 6th Congressional District.

Raja Krishnamoorthi

An American businessman, politician and attorney, Raja Krishnamoorthi won with 56.3% votes defeating Republican’s Mark Rice.

Krishnamoorthi, born in New Delhi and raised in Illinois, is the first Indian-American or South Asian to serve as Ranking Member or Chair of a full US Congressional committee.

Though initials lead to being inclined to Indian-American Arizona Democrat Amish Shah, he was declared defeated by AP by his Republican rival David Shweikert. He was defeated by a slender margin of 1.6%.

With this, the ‘Samosa Caucus’ now has six members.

On his last year’s visit to the US, PM Narendra Modi reportedly said, “There are millions in the US who have roots in India and some of them sit in this chamber. One of them is seated behind, who has made history (pointing to Kamala Harris). I am told that Samosa Caucus is now the flavour of the House. I hope it grows and brings the full diversity of Indian cuisine here.” 

‘Samosa Caucus’ is a nickname given to a group of Indian-American lawmakers in the US Congress. It refers to the growing number of Indian-American legislators who are of South Asian descent, particularly those of Indian origin.

The name is a playful nod to the popular Indian snack “samosa”. The term was coined around 2018 by Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, to celebrate the growing influence of Indian-Americans in US politics.

Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian-American elected to the US Congress and served from 1957 to 1963. He represented California in the House of Representatives as a Democrat.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)

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