WASHINGTON: Ami Bera, 51, has been re-elected to the US House of Representatives for a third consecutive term in a close election, making the number of Indian-Americans elected to the Congress to a record five. This is the first time the House would hold four Indian-American members.
Bera would be joined by three first-time Indian American lawmakers in the US House of Representatives; Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, Pramila Jayapal from Washington State, and Ro Khanna from California. Bera, who was the only Indian-American in the Congress in his previous term, defeated Republican Sacramento County sheriff Scott Jones. Bera was projected to be declared elected after Sacramento County Registrar of Votes announced the latest update of its counting of ballots. According to this, Bera's lead over his Republican rival Scott Jones grew to more than two per cent, with 129,064 votes to 123,056 in the Congressional Seventh District of California. With the win, Bera ties for the record for the most consecutive terms served by an Indian-American in Congress, held by Congressman Dalip Singh Saund, who served three terms from 1957-1963.
"It has been my honour to serve this community first as a doctor, and for these past four years as a member of Congress. I am incredibly thankful for the hundreds of volunteers who knocked doors and made phone calls during this campaign because they believe in standing up for women's access to healthcare, protecting Medicare and social security and ensuring all of our veterans receive the benefits they have earned," Bera said. He added, "After months of a divisive national election, our job now is to bring our country back together."
Meanwhile, an Indian-origin woman won a key local election in the US state of Maryland. Raaheela Ahmed, 23, a Muslim-American woman won the school board race, defeating a long-time system administrator by an impressive 15 per cent vote difference.
