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US Election 2024: The term ‘Samosa Caucus’ was coined in 2018. It previously had Shamal Thanedar from Michigan’s 13th district, Ami Bera from California’s 6th district, Ro Khanna from California’s 17th district, Pramila Jayapal from Washington’s 7th district and Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois’ 8th district
Suhas Subramanyam is the first Indian American to be elected to the House of Representatives from Virginia, and the East Coast. He is presently the Senator from Virginia’s 32nd District.
The US Presidential Election 2024 had many Indian-origin Americans vying for a seat in the Congress. Vice-President Kamala Harris was running for the high office to become the first woman and person of colour for the presidency.
The informal grouping of Indian Americans called the ‘Samosa Caucus’ has expanded from six to seven members in the House of Representatives, if Democratic candidate Amish Shah emerges winner in Arizona’s District 1.
What Is The Samosa Caucus?
The caucus, which is an informal grouping, is named after the popular Indian snack, ‘samosa’. The term has been in use since 2018, and was reportedly coined by Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Representative from Illinois’s 8th District.
The caucus previously comprised five members in Congress – Shamal Thanedar (68) from Michigan’s 13th District, Dr Ami Bera (58) from California’s 6th District, Ro Khanna from the California’s 17th District of California, Pramila Jayapal from Washington’s 7th District and Krishnamoorthy.
All five members have been re-elected to Congress.
Who are the Indian Americans Elected to the Congress?
Suhas Subramanyam: The first Indian American to be elected to the House of Representatives from Virginia, and the East Coast. He will represent Virginia’s 10th congressional district as House Representative. He is presently the Senator from Virginia’s 32nd District. He has previously served as a delegate on Virginia’s state assembly. “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,” Subramanyam said. Subramanyam is an Indian-American lawyer born to immigrant parents from Bengaluru. A law graduate from Northwestern University, he previously served as a White House advisor to Barack Obama. At the time, he led a task force on technology policy that addressed job creation and regulating new technologies. He lives with his wife Miranda and two children in Ashburn, Virginia.
Ami Bera: He is the longest-serving Indian American in the Congress, and represents California’s 6th Congressional District, including Sacramento County. A physician by training, Bera has a background in medicine and public health. He has championed affordable healthcare and global diplomacy, particularly in Indo-Pacific region. He was earlier working as the chief medical officer for Sacramento County, where he developed programmes to serve underserved populations. Bera’s parents hail from Rajkot, Gujarat. He lives with his wife Janine and their only child in Elk Grove, California.
Shri Thanedar: He won re-election to the US Congress from Michigan’s 13th district. The Indian American Congressman defeated Republican Martell Bivings by more than 35 percentage points, securing term a second term with overwhelming support. Born in Karnataka, Thanedar moved to the US higher education in 1979 aged 24 to pursue PhD followed by MBA. He has since built a successful career as a businessman and entrepreneur, founding several companies in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. He sold his main business, Avomeen Analytical Services, for $20 million in 2016.
Pramila Jayapal: The Democrat won the re-election from Washington’s 7th Congressional district. She is the first South Asian to represent Washington at the federal level. Born to a Chennai-based Malayali family in India, Jayapal became the first South Asian American woman elected to the US House of Representatives in 2017. She served as Senator from 2015 to 2017 before being elected to the Congress. She is known for her strong views on Medicare for All, immigration reform and climate change. Jayapal has a BA from Georgetown University, and MBA from Kellogg School, Northwestern University. She is married to Steven Williamson, and is the mother of a transgender child from her previous marriage. She supports abortion rights, and has championed civil rights.
Ro Khanna: He won the re-election to represent California’s 17th Congressional District in the US House. Khanna, has held this seat since 2016, defeated Republican Anita Chen. He first made headlines when he unseated longtime Democratic incumbent Mike Honda. The district covering south of San Francisco has been a Democratic seat since 1990. He advocates for Silicon Valley’s interests, particularly on issues of tech accountability, climate change, and economic reform. He co-authored the Endless Frontier Act, which became the foundation for the CHIPS and Science Act, a landmark bill that bolsters America’s role in technology and semiconductor manufacturing. He supports “economic patriotism” to bring jobs and technological advancement to American workers. Before joining the Congress, he taught at Stanford University and served as an adjunct professor at Santa Clara Law School. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Commerce Department in the Barack Obama administration. He was born in Philadelphia to Punjabi parents who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. He was a high school valedictorian, and graduated from Chicago University with the highest honours, before attending Yale Law.
Raja Krishnamoorthi: The Democrat was re-elected from Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, which includes part of Chicago’s northwest side and surrounding suburbs. He has held the position since 2017. Krishnamoorthi advocated for the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz ticket and encouraged South Asian voter turnout. He holds a prominent role as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the US and Chinese Communist Party, marking him as the first South Asian American to lead a Congressional Committee. He serves on the Intelligence and Oversight Committees, and is Vice-Chair of the Equality Caucus, Co-chair of CAPAC’s Immigration Task Force, and founded bi-partisan caucuses on youth vaping and solar energy. He urged the Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, to engage with the interim government of Bangladesh to stop the attacks on Hindus. Born to immigrant parents and raised in Peoria, Illinois, he attended Princeton University for mechanical engineering and graduated from Harvard Law School; he has held roles in Illinois’ Public Integrity Unit, affordable housing, and state venture capital. He lives in Schaumburg, Illinois, with his wife, Priya, who is a physician, and their three children.
Amish Shah: The Democrat announced his candidacy for Arizona’s First Congressional District recently to bring his medical background and bipartisan approach to the national stage. He is currently leading in a close contest in the district. He was elected to the Arizona’s State Assembly thrice – in 2018, 2020 and 2022. His legislative focus has always been on healthcare, and has taken a strong stand against the Big Pharma. After representing Maricopa County with the First Congressional District, Shah has prioritised lower costs for working families, abortion rights and affordable healthcare access. He was born in Chicago to Indian immigrant parents. He holds Bachelor of Arts cum laude and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Northwestern University, as well as a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California-Berkeley. He is fluent in Gujarati and conversational in Spanish.