Pia Dandiya makes history in Florida as Indian American candidates win congressional, statewide and legislative races.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2026 — Democrats swept to control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s November 3, 2026 midterm elections, dealing a major political setback to President Donald Trump and Republicans, while Indian American candidates registered significant victories across the country.
The Democratic wave extended beyond Washington, with the party flipping Republican-held congressional districts, winning key governorships and making gains in state legislatures. Voter concerns about rising living costs, the economy and the administration’s policies helped shape the election outcome.
Indian American Democrats were among the notable winners, strengthening the community’s representation in Congress and state government.
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One of the most significant victories came in Florida, where Pia Dandiya defeated Republican Casey Askar in the 22nd Congressional District, becoming the state’s first Indian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Four incumbent Indian American members of Congress also secured re-election: Ami Bera and Ro Khanna of California, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia. In Maryland, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller won another term alongside Gov. Wes Moore.
Among the state-level victories, Nabeela Syed defeated a Republican incumbent in Illinois, while Jyot Singh made history as the first Sikh American elected to Georgia’s General Assembly.
The results reflect the growing influence of Indian Americans in U.S. politics, with representation spanning congressional seats, statewide executive offices and local government.
Nationwide Indian American Election Winners – November 3, 2026
Election-night research update | November 4, 2026
The reporting available today confirms victories from California to Vermont, including Congress, statewide offices, state legislatures and local government. However, there is not yet a complete, independently verified list covering every municipality and school board in all 50 states. I won’t call the list exhaustive or count candidates who are merely leading.
I am using three distinctions: reported winner, leading but uncalled, and not yet independently verified. Only reported winners belong in the main roster. This also corrects the earlier omission of local New Jersey races.
A. Reported winners by state and office
The following roster includes candidates whose victories are reported by election coverage, official returns or both. Some local results are unofficial and subject to remaining ballots.
U.S. Congress and statewide offices
| State | Winner | Office won |
|---|---|---|
| California | Ami Bera (D) | U.S. House, District 3 |
| California | Ro Khanna (D) | U.S. House, District 17 |
| Florida | Pia Dandiya (D) | U.S. House, District 22 |
| Virginia | Suhas Subramanyam (D) | U.S. House, District 10 |
| Washington | Pramila Jayapal (D) | U.S. House, District 7 |
| Maryland | Aruna Miller (D) | Lieutenant governor |
| Wisconsin | Josh Kaul (D) | Attorney general |
These seven victories are supported by the Nov. 4 reports of PTI, Indian American news publications and election projections.
State Senate
| State | Winner | District or area |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Priya Sundareshan (D) | District 18, Tucson |
| Connecticut | Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (D) | District 22, Fairfield County |
| Illinois | Nabeela Syed (D) | District 26, Chicago suburbs |
| Illinois | Ram Villivalam (D) | District 8, Chicago |
| Maryland | Amar Mukunda (D) | District 39, Montgomery County |
| Minnesota | Krish Subrahmanian (D) | District 49, Twin Cities suburbs |
| New York | Lisa Kaul (D) | District 39, Hudson Valley |
| New York | Jeremy Cooney (D) | District 56, Rochester |
| North Carolina | Jay Chaudhuri (D) | District 15, Wake County |
| Vermont | Nikhil Goyal (D) | Chittenden-Central |
Mukunda’s result is documented by the Maryland State Board of Elections, while the other victories have been reported by regional election coverage and Indian American news outlets.
State House and Assembly
| State | Winner | District or area |
|---|---|---|
| California | Ash Kalra (D) | Assembly District 25, San Jose |
| Georgia | Jyot Singh (D) | House District 97, Gwinnett County |
| Michigan | Ranjeev Puri (D) | House District 24, Canton area |
| Pennsylvania | Arvind Venkat (D) | House District 30, Pittsburgh suburbs |
| Texas | Pooja Sethi (D) | House District 47, Austin area |
Kalra won a sixth term, while Singh and Sethi were reported as newly elected state representatives.
City and municipal councils outside New Jersey
| State / district | Winner | Office |
|---|---|---|
| California — Oakland | Janani Ramachandran | City Council, District 4 |
| California — Union City | Vipan S. Bajwa | City Council, District 4 |
| California — Dublin | Kashef Qaadri | City Council, District 4 |
| Washington, D.C. | Aparna Raj (D) | D.C. Council, Ward 1 |
Alameda County returns show Qaadri and Bajwa ahead in their respective one-seat contests, while Ramachandran ran unopposed. A documented candidate questionnaire identifies Qaadri as an American of Indian descent. Raj’s Ward 1 victory has been projected.
County councils and commissions
| State | Winner | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Neil Manimala | Hillsborough County Commission, District 5 |
| Georgia | Rohit Malhotra | Fulton County Commission, District 4 |
| Indiana | Ranjan Rohatgi | St. Joseph County Council, District B |
| North Carolina | Mona Singh | Wake County Commission, at-large |
All four victories were reported in the Nov. 4 state-and-local election roundup.
New Jersey municipal winners
New Jersey warrants its own section because several council elections took place alongside the federal midterms.
| County / municipality | Winner | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Essex — Livingston | Ketan Bhuptani (D) | Township Council |
| Morris — Long Hill | Mansi Patel (D) | Township Committee |
| Bergen — Tenafly | Aakash Shah (D) | Borough Council |
| Middlesex — South River | Anita Chadha (D) | Borough Council |
The New Jersey Globe reported Bhuptani’s and Patel’s wins, Bergen County reporting confirms Shah’s uncontested council race, and the New Jersey Globe also reported Chadha’s victory.
B. Important candidates not yet included as winners
These Indian American candidates were either leading in reported returns or had results that I could not establish conclusively. They should not be included in the winners’ collage yet.
| Candidate | State | Office | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amish Shah | Arizona | U.S. House, District 1 | Leading; no confirmed call in sources reviewed |
| Darshana Patel | California | State Assembly, District 76 | Leading, approximately 58%; uncalled |
| Nithya Raman | California | Los Angeles mayor | Close race, counting continues |
| Kesha Ram Hinsdale | Vermont | State Senate, Chittenden-Southeast | Outcome not confirmed |
| Anjana R. Patel | New Jersey | Edison Board of Education | Leading; results unofficial |
| Shuchita Patel | Georgia | Forsyth County Commission | Final result not verified |
The Edison result is particularly important: Anjana R. Patel was first among the three leading candidates with 11,852 votes as of noon Nov. 4. But mail-in and provisional votes were still being counted.