Washington: Over 30 Indian Americans are running for local offices and state legislatures across the US, reflecting a rising political engagement within this small but increasingly influential community. Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has often encouraged members of the community to participate in politics, saying, "If you are not at the table, you are on the menu," to rally support for political involvement at all levels.
California, with the largest Indian American population in the country, has a significant number of candidates in local and state races. Notable figures include Adlah Chisti for County Supervisor of District 11, Aliya Chisti for the San Francisco City College Board, Darshana Patel for the State Assembly, Nicole Fernandez for the San Mateo City Council, Nithya Raman for the Los Angeles City Council, Richa Awasthi for the Foster City Council, Sukhdeep Kaur for the Emeryville City Council, and Tara Sreekrishnan for the State Assembly in District 26. According to PTI, California also has a strong Indian American political representation in the House of Representatives, with Ro Khanna and Dr Ami Bera, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother was from India.
Beyond California, Indian Americans are also making waves in other states. In Michigan, a critical battleground state, Dr Ajay Raman is running for Oakland County Commissioner for District 14, with Anil Kumar and Ranjeev Puri running for the Michigan State House. In Arizona, Priya Sundareshan is vying for the State Senate, and Ravi Shah for the School Board. Pennsylvania candidates include Anand Patek, Anna Thomas, and Arvind Venkat for the State House, and Nikil Saval for the State Senate.
In Illinois, Anusha Thotakura is a candidate for school board, while Nabeel Syed is running for the State House. In Georgia, Ashwin Ramaswamy is making history by running for the State Senate as the youngest-ever candidate, though he has faced racially motivated attacks during his campaign. Ohio’s candidates include Chantel Raghu for County Commissioner and Pavan Parikh for County Clerk of Courts, and in Virginia, Danny Avula is running for Mayor of Richmond.
New York sees Jeremy Cooney and Manita Sanghvi running for the State Senate, while Zohran Mamdani is seeking a position in the State Assembly. In Texas, Indian Americans are active in various races: Ashika Ganguly for City Council, Karthik Soora for State Senate, Nabil Shike for County Constable, Ramesh Premkumar for City Council, Ravi Sandill for Judge, Salman Bhojani and Shekhar Sinha for the State House, Sherine Thomas for Judge, Suleman Lalani for the State House, and Sumbel Zeb for County Appraisals Court. In Washington State, Manka Dhingra is running for Attorney General, and Mona Das for Commissioner of Public Lands.