Washington, Nov 4
Indian-American Democrat Pia Dandiya won a closely fought US House seat in Florida, according to projections by Decision Desk HQ and CBS News, as Democrats flipped their first Senate seat of the midterm elections in North Carolina and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy trailed in Ohio's governor's race.
Dandiya defeated Republican Casey Askar in Florida's 22nd Congressional District. "Decision Desk HQ projects Pia Dandiya wins the FL US House 22 General Election," the outlet posted on X, putting its call at 8:05 pm. CBS News projected that Dandiya "has won the race for U.S. House in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican Casey Askar."
NBC News also marked the race as a projected win, with Dandiya ahead by 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent and about 97.6 per cent of the expected vote counted. More than 292,000 votes had been counted.
Dandiya, a former school principal, sought to enter Congress from a newly redrawn South Florida district. The contest had attracted attention as one of the competitive House races that could influence control of the chamber.
"Pia focused on the issues that matter most to South Florida – addressing the affordability crisis and making sure that everyone has the opportunity to achieve the American Dream," the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said on X.
Indian-American Representative Pramila Jayapal congratulated Dandiya on X, saying she was "so excited to welcome the third South Asian American woman" to the House.
Earlier, Indian-American Democrats Suhas Subramanyam and Aruna Miller were projected to win re-election.
NBC News projected Subramanyam's victory in Virginia's 10th Congressional District. The latest NBC figures showed the Democratic incumbent with 61.4 per cent of the vote against Republican challenger Dave Beckwith's 36.5 per cent, with about 88.7 per cent of the expected vote counted. Subramanyam also faced independent candidate Ahsen Malik.
The victory gives Subramanyam, who first entered Congress in 2025, a second two-year term. He became Virginia's first Indian-American member of Congress in 2024.
"The campaign is over, but the work is just beginning. I look forward to working with our community to deliver change in Washington," Subramanyam posted on X.
In neighbouring Maryland, Indian-American Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller secured another term after NBC News projected Democratic Governor Wes Moore's re-election. Miller, who ran alongside Moore on the Democratic ticket, defeated Republican lieutenant governor candidate Rob Krop, the running mate of former state delegate Dan Cox. Her re-election ensures continued Indian-American representation in one of the country's highest state executive offices.
The results represented early successes for Indian-American Democrats as several closely watched races remained undecided.
In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton maintained her lead over Ramaswamy in the governor's race. Acton had 54.3 per cent of the vote against Ramaswamy's 42.8 per cent, with about 46 per cent of the expected vote counted and roughly 2.2 million votes tallied, according to NBC News. The network said the contest remained too early to call and that Ramaswamy would need to win 53.5 per cent of the remaining vote to overtake Acton. Earlier in the evening, with about a quarter of the expected vote counted, Acton had led by about 63 per cent to 34 per cent.
Ramaswamy, a biotechnology entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump and Governor Mike DeWine, is seeking to succeed DeWine, who is term-limited. Acton, a physician and former Ohio health director, emerged as the Democratic challenger in a contest that has drawn national attention.
In North Carolina, Republican Mahesh "Max" Ganorkar lost to Democratic Representative Valerie Foushee in the 4th Congressional District, NBC News projected. Foushee led by 82.9 per cent to 15.6 per cent with about 78 per cent of the expected vote counted.
In Massachusetts, Democratic Senator Ed Markey was projected to win re-election. The result meant defeat for independent Indian-American candidate Shiva Ayyadurai, who was among the challengers alongside Republican John Deaton.
In Georgia's state legislative elections, Indian-American Democrat Jyot Singh led Republican Yassin Moghazy in House District 97 by 10,491 votes (70.6 per cent) to 4,375 (29.4 per cent), according to unofficial Gwinnett County results updated at 8:49 pm. The race had not been called.
In Texas, Indian-American Democrat Pooja Sethi is running against Republican Jennifer Mushtaler for the open House District 47 seat. The Texas Secretary of State's results page, last updated at 7:57 pm, showed no votes for the race.
In New York, where polls closed at 9 pm, Indian-American Republican Saritha Komatireddy is challenging Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. NBC News showed no votes counted yet. In Arizona, where polls also closed at 9 pm Eastern, Indian-American Democrat Amish Shah faces Republican Jay Feely in the 1st Congressional District.
Polls in California, where Representatives Ro Khanna and Ami Bera are seeking re-election and Nithya Raman is running for Los Angeles mayor, and in Washington, where Jayapal is on the ballot, close at 11 pm Eastern.
Nationally, Democrats picked up their first Senate seat when former Governor Roy Cooper won the North Carolina seat opened by Republican Senator Thom Tillis's retirement, defeating Republican Michael Whatley, NBC News projected. Cooper led by about 61 per cent to 37 per cent with about 72 per cent of the expected vote counted. "North Carolina — I'm grateful for your trust," Cooper posted on X.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff was projected to win re-election in Georgia, defeating Republican Congressman Mike Collins. He led by 60.2 per cent to 39.8 per cent with about 71 per cent of the vote counted. Democrat Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's Senate race, while Republican Senator Ashley Moody won Florida's special election for Marco Rubio's former seat, NBC News projected. Democratic Senator Mark Warner earlier claimed a new term in Virginia. "Thank you, Virginia! I'm honored and grateful to continue serving as your United States Senator," Warner posted on X.
Republicans went into the night with a 53-47 Senate majority. As of about 9 pm Eastern, NBC News counted 45 Democratic and 34 Republican seats, including those not on the ballot, with Democrats up one seat. In the House, where 218 seats are needed for a majority and Democrats need a net gain of three seats, NBC had projected 74 seats for Democrats and 32 for Republicans, with Democrats up one seat. Several swing seats were still being counted, including Virginia's 1st and 2nd districts.
Democratic Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and JB Pritzker of Illinois were also projected to win re-election.
Neither Trump nor the White House had commented on the results on X by about 9 pm.
