Several Indian American and 2 Pakistani American Candidates Win Primaries in California and Texas

Several Indian American and South Asian American candidates in California and Texas have advanced to the Nov. 5 election after winning their party’s nomination on the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries.

Incumbent Congressmen Ami Bera and Ro Khanna of California won their respective Democratic primaries. In District 6, Rep. Bera, who has been serving in the U.S. House since 2013, easily defeated his Republican challengers with 27,574 or 53.61 percent of the votes. He will face another Republican Christine Bish in the general election. Ro Khanna, who got 32,057 or 60.64 percent of the votes, will run against Republican challenger Christine Chen in the general election. However, businessman Ritesh Tandon, a Democrat, who also ran against Khanna, came in third with 2,366 or 4.40 percent of the votes. 

On the Republican side, entrepreneur Vinay ‘Vin’ Kruttiventi, also advanced to the general election from California’s 14th Congressional district. The Indian American will face incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell on Nov. 5. Kruttiventi got 5,246 or 17.8 percent votes, while Swalwell received more than 19,000 votes or 64.5 percent.

Kruttiventi, who owns A5, a business and technology consulting firm in Pleasanton, described himself as “an advocate for job creating in the 14th District, providing skill building opportunities to workers in the district and helping Fortune 500 companies across the globe problem solve and streamline processes.” His campaign website says his passion for community service was influenced by his grandfather, a freedom fighter who he said worked beside Gandhi in India.

In the race to fill Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s seat, Silicon Valley hi-tech executive and mechanical engineer Rishi Kumar came in fifth with  5,540 votes. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat, is leading the crowded field with 19,137, while Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, also a Democrat, is trailing with 15,598 votes. 

Also unsuccessful was clinical psychologist Dr. Harmesh Kumar in his long shot bid to win the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.the highly contentious and publicized race was won by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)  and Republican Steve Garvey.

Research scientist Dr. Darshana Patel, a Democrat, won the Democratic primary for a  state Assembly seat from California’s 76th district and will run against Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane. The district leans Democratic, “with nearly 38% of the voters registering as a Democrat versus 30% Republican,” KPBS reported. Patel came in second with 19,014 or 32.1 percent of the votes.

In the state’s 26th district, Tara Sreekrishnan lost her challenge for the state Assembly seat. The 30-year-old has served on the county board of education since 2021. She also works as state Sen. Dave Cortese’s deputy chief of staff and legislative director. She was previously Cortese’s chief of staff when he was a Santa Clara County supervisor. “We are excited and grateful for the support we received from the community, we ran a very grassroots campaign and were outspent by incredible amounts,” Sreekrishnan told San José Spotlight. “One thing is clear, our message resonated with voters from all walks of life. It was focused on putting the needs of our community first, improving educational outcomes for every child and ensuring economic opportunity for everyone.”vSreekrishnan is also the co-founder of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action — a nonprofit that seeks to combat climate change through education and public policy initiatives.

Current Councilmember Nithya Raman from District 4, who is running for a second term, is leading her two challengers — Levon ‘Lev’ Baronian and Ethan Weaver. “Housing affordability and homelessness are key issues in a recently-redrawn district, where a large number of constituents never had the opportunity to vote for Raman before,” LA List reported. Raman was first elected to the city council in 2020, and this is her first reelection campaign. She previously worked as an urban planner and as the executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment.

In the state Senate races, entrepreneur and educator Dr. Angelo Farooq came in fourth for the open 31st District seat with 14.9 percent of the votes. He told the Press-Enterprise that he decided to run for office because “as the son of a single immigrant mom who struggled to make ends meet,” he “understands what it means to be given the chance for a better life.” He said his “candidacy is an opportunity for me to authentically represent communities that include my hometown, where my wife and I are raising our daughter and where I am planning to retire one day.”

In Texas, real estate broker Sandeep Srivastava, who ran uncontested from the 3rd Congressional District will face incumbent Rep. Keith Self  (D-Texas). The Indian American lost to Self in the 2022 midterms. Srivastava is a first-generation immigrant and learned the importance of giving back and helping others at a young age from his mother who was an elected official in India. He moved to the U.S. with his wife and two children to pursue the American Dream. A few years later, he established a South Asian organization that engaged stakeholders in the community before starting his own real estate business in Plano. After a successful career in business, he and his wife started a daycare center, to fill a void in the community for quality and affordable childcare. As a father of two, Srivastava says on his website that he “has deep roots in District 3” and believes “that his small business experience, exceptional managerial skills, and desire to better the community is the exact type of leadership this district needs.

In the state Senate races, Karthik Soora lost his bid in the 15th District. He received 3,073 votes, or 6.25 percent. Born and raised in Lille Rock, Arkansas, Soora attended Rice University in Houston, where he earned a triple major in Political Science, History, and Asian Studies with a minor in Global Health Technologies. He helped co-found the Texas Chapter of TheySeeBlue, a volunteer organization dedicated to mobilizing South Asians in Texas. 

Regardless of the outcome tonight, it has been the honor of a lifetime to run to serve you. To every volunteer, donor, poll greeter, and more who showed up for our campaign, your support meant the world to us. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/lOzqqDGFR4

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Indian American Vivek Chilukuri Named Senior Fellow at Center for New American Security

— Karthik Soora (@KarthikForTexas) March 6, 2024

Nasir Malik was also unsuccessful in his bid for the sate Senate seat from District 7. He lost to Michelle Gwinn, who won the  Democratic primary for Texas Senate District 7 with 55.39% of votes against her opponent Nasir H. Malik, who earned 44.61% of votes. 

Another Indian American who lost his bid to the state House is Shekhar Sinha, who was running for a sear from District 121. He immigrated from India and graduated from Penn State with dual Master’s in Math and Computer Science in 1989. He’s worked in the IT (Information Technology) industry in USA for 33 years in both technical and management positions. He supports protecting women’s reproductive rights, protecting children from firearm injuries, which is their leading cause of death in USA, protecting voting rights, tackling climate change, protecting the environment, protecting workers’ rights, increasing minimum wage, making public colleges affordable, protecting LGBTQ rights, expanding Medicaid and other Federal programs to cover uninsured residents and lend a helping hand to those in need.

Salman Bhojani, who represents District 92 in the state House, has advanced to the Nov. 5 election. The entrepreneur and attorney, was elected to Euless City Council in 2018, and served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2020. Born in Pakistan to a large family, Bhojani lived in Canada for a time before settling in the Lone Star State. He started out supporting his family by working at gas stations for minimum wage.

Another incumbent who won reelection was Pakistani American Dr. Suleman Lalani, a state House member representing District 76. He beat out challenger Vanesia Johnson with 63.44 percent of the votes. Lalani came to the U.S. in the 1990s to begin his career as a doctor. According to his website, he chose this country for its advanced medicine and quality of healthcare. He has been in private practice in the Greater Houston area for the last two decades and in Sugar Land for 17 years.

Also advancing to the general election is Sherine Thomas, who is running for election for judge of the Texas 353rd District Court. After moving to the U.S.from New Delhi in 1971, she chose to devote her legal career to public service, a decision that placed her on the path to becoming a Judge. She gained her extensive legal knowledge and experience at the Travis County Attorney’s Office. She continually rose through the ranks while representing the people of Travis County in some of the most consequential legal battles to protect the environment, marriage equality, public health and more. Currently, she serves on the Board for the Travis County Women’s Lawyer Association and co-chairs the Mentorship Committee. She is also on the Executive Board for the Calvert Inn of Court, serves on the Editorial Board for The Bencher, and was appointed to serve on the State Bar of Texas District 9 Grievance Committee. She is a founding member and current Chair for the South Asian Bar Association Austin. 

But in the race for State District Jude in the Harris County 127th Civil District Court, Ravi K. Sandill lost to Denise Brown. He has served as judge of the 127th Civil District Court in Harris County since 2009, and is the first ever district court judge in Texas of South Asian descent. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston Law Center.  He is a former briefing attorney for Ret. Justice Murry B. Cohen of Texas’s First District Court of Appeals.  During his years of practice, he focused primarily on employment, commercial, appellate, and covenant-not-to-compete litigation.