Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi Wins Re-election to U.S. House in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District

Incumbent U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi easily coasted to victory in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District against Preston Nelson of the Libertarian Party. Krishnamoorthi nearly 70 percent of the vote against 30 percent for Nelson. This is Krishnamoorthi’s third win from a district that has a sizable Indian American presence.

Krishnamoorthi, a member of the so-called Samosa Caucus in the U.S. Congress, was born in New Delhi, before his family immigrated to the United States three months after he was born. Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Krishnamoorthi worked as a law clerk, attorney, Illinois special assistant attorney general, Illinois deputy state treasurer, and campaign staffer for Barack Obama. He also worked as vice chair of the Illinois Innovation Council, co-founded the InSPIRE nonprofit for solar technology training, and served as president of two businesses, Sivananthan Labs and Episolar, Inc.

Krishnamoorthi previously ran unsuccessfully for Illinois’ 8th seat in the 2012 Democratic primary. He also lost a Democratic primary in 2010 for Illinois Comptroller.