Two hours into the election night vote count, (10 pm Eastern Time) it became apparent that the leading Indian American Congressman in the House of Representatives, Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, had lost his bid for the US Senate, in the March 17 Democratic primaries in Illinois. With 67 percent of the vote counted, Krishnamoorthi was about 6 points (39.3%-33.6%) behind Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who had the backing of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
The loss also translates to into one less voice for the Indian American community in the halls of Congress – a bipartisan voice with a record of legislation, and committee appointments that were achievements in and of themselves.
The 52 year-old lawmaker was described by the New York Times as an “ambitious political operator” as well as “a fundraising juggernaut.” If elected, he would have been the 2nd Indian American Senator after former Vice President Kamala Harris.
His biography on the Congressional website is a testament to his accomplishments.
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Elected to Congress in 2016, he is now in his fifth term (till this November 3 general elections) representing Illinois’ 8th District, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs as well as the 41st ward of the city.
He took the risk of losing this stronghold when he saw what seemed an opportunity to replace long time incumbent Senator Dick Durbin who was retiring. Krishnamoorthi ran despite a crowded field of fellow Democratic contenders. Anyone who won in this blue distrct was a shoe-in come November.
Running an aggressive campaign that criss crossed the state, Krishnamoorthi secured impressive endorsements, and pointed out he was proud of 80,000 individual contributions when large donations were questioned. But he faced a formidable opponent in Juliana Stratton who had the backing of Party heavy weights.
The news outlet Politico noted that, “Stratton overcame a crowded Democratic contest for the state’s open Senate seat, defeating front-runner Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi with the help of millions of dollars of outside spending — much of it from her old running mate, Gov. JB Pritzker.”
New York Times’ data analysis showed Stratton was successful in urban Cook County and smaller cities while Krishnamoorthi was successful in Chicago suburbs and rural parts of the state. Indian Americans, while not necessarily decisive in the vote, are concentrated in the Chicago suburbs.
The Congressman lives with his wife Priya, a physician, and 3 children in Schaumburg, Illinois, a northwestern suburb of Chicago.
Only in America
Calls to the Congressman upon the results being declared were not returned. But his office promptly sent a statement saying –
“I called Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and congratulated her on winning this primary. I trust that she will continue the lasting legacy that Senator Durbin leaves behind.
“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.”
In his concession speech, Krishnamoorthi said, “Obviously, this is not the result we sought. But, unlike Trump, I will not question the result. ”
Journey to Capitol Hill
A political being since early on, Krishnamoorthi worked on President Obama’s Senate campaign years before he entered the White House.
While in Congress, Krishnamoorthi most recently has been serving as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, making him the first South Asian American in history to lead a Congressional Committee for his Party.
He also on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services.
The Congressman is a Vice-Chair of the Equality Caucus and Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Immigration Task Force. In addition, he is the founder and Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus to End Youth Vaping and the bipartisan Solar Caucus.
The son of Indian immigrants who was raised in Peoria, Illinois where he attended public schools and was a valedictorian of his high school class.
Scholarships and student loans helped him to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in mechanical engineering and a certificate from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. He then graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and clerked for a federal judge before practicing law in Chicago.
While practicing law he was appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a Special Assistant Attorney General to help start the state’s Public Integrity Unit created to root out corruption in Illinois.
As a member of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Congressman chaired the Audit Committee, helping to provide thousands of low and moderate-income families across the state with affordable housing, his biography notes.
Congressman Krishnamoorthi also served as Illinois Deputy Treasurer, where he oversaw the state’s technology venture capital fund and where he is credited with helping make programs such as the state’s unclaimed property program leaner and more efficient.
He worked in the private sector, serving as president of research-oriented small businesses developing technology in the national security and renewable energy industries. Representative Krishnamoorthi also served as the Vice-Chair of the Illinois Innovation Council and co-founded InSPIRE, a non-profit that provides inner-city students and veterans with training in solar technology.