Indian American Aruna Miller is Poised to Become the Next Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

Aruna Miller, 57, a former Maryland House delegate, is likely to be elected the next Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. She is the running mate of Wes Moore, who has been named winner of the Democratic nomination for governor of Maryland.

Moore, a best-selling author, and an Army veteran has bested former Labor Secretary and DNC Chairman Tom Perez and Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot in a crowded race for the nomination.

According to most pollsters, Democrats have the best chance to take over the governor’s mansion from the term-limited incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan. The Cook Political Report rates the Maryland governor’s race as Solid Democrat, according to NBC News.

When he chose the Hyderabad-born Miller, Moore, the former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, said he was “absolutely ecstatic and humbled to go on this journey with Aruna Miller.” Considering that Moore, who has never held or run for public office, will find a relatively seasoned campaigner in Miller who not only served two terms in Maryland General Assembly but also had unsuccessfully run for the party nomination for U.S. Congress in 2017.

Both Moore and Miller have impeccable credentials outside of politics. While Moore was a Rhodes Scholar, author and entrepreneur, Miller is an engineer by training. In Moore’s words, Miller “is a seasoned legislator who has fought for families in Montgomery County and across the entire state of Maryland in the House of Delegates.”

Miller, who immigrated to this country when she was 7 years old and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, spent four years on the House Ways and Means Committee and four years on the Appropriations Committee, working on issues like paid family leave, transportation policy, domestic violence, and STEM education, among many others.

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What remains to be seen in the ensuing contest in November that seems to favor the Democrats is how the race factor will influence the voters, considering that the Democrats are pitted against a very Trumpian Republican nominee Dan Cox who was endorsed by the former president. Ironically, it was the Democrats who boosted Cox’s candidacy in the expectation that his association with Trump and Trumpism will put off the voters.

If Cox does seek to run a campaign to excite and turn out the right-wing base, one can expect many dog whistles against the ‘Black-Brown’ ticket. And if the ticket prevails, Moore will become the first Black governor of Maryland and Miller the first Indian American to be elected lieutenant governor of any state.

Miller lives in the 6th Congressional District with her husband, David, her mother, Hema, and their two dogs Lucy and Scout. Aruna and David also have three adult daughters Meena, Chloe, and Sasha.