Pramila Jayapal and Shri Thanedar / File Photo

With primary elections approaching next week in five US states—including Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington— several Indian American candidates are featured on the ballots. The general mid-term elections will be held on November 3, 2026. 

High profile Indian American Democrat Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is running for re-election to the US House to represent Washington’s 7th Congressional district. 

She is on the ballot in the primary on August 4. Jayapal, the first Indian American woman elected to the US Congress, has served as representative from Washington’s 7th district, which includes Seattle, since 2017.

Earlier, she represented the 37 th legislative district in the Washington state House from 2015 to 2017. Before her foray into politics, Jayapal was a Seattle-based civil rights activist.

Also Read: Pramila Jayapal calls for ICE agents to wear body cameras

For US House of Representatives (Washington district 9) Kshama Sawant (Independent) is challenging long-time Democratic incumbent Adam Smith. An Independent Socialist, Sawant previously served on the Seattle City Council representing District 3 for a decade.

Born in Pune in 1973, and raised in Mumbai, Sawant earned a BS in computer science from the University of Mumbai in 1994 before moving to the US, where she earned a Ph.D. in economics from North Carolina State University. 

Prior to her 2013 City Council election, she taught economics at Seattle Central Community College and served as a delegate for the American Federation of Teachers (Local 1789) to the Martin Luther King County Labor Council.

Sawant will feature on the August 4 nonpartisan primary ballot. Other candidates in the race include incumbent Adam Smith, Douglas Michael Basler, Melissa Chaudhry, and Jacob Perasso.

Others on the ballot for the non-partisan primary are Gwen Kirkland (Democrat), Nirav Sheth (Republican) and David Blomstrom (Fifth Republic Party). Sheth, who is also an Indian American, served in the US Marine Corps from 2011 to 2014. 

He earned an associate degree from the Government Polytechnic State Institute of Gujarat in India in 2006. His career experience includes working as an electrical engineer, in computer science, as an aircraft mechanic, as an automotive service advisor, and in property management. He ran in the primary for US House Washington District 10 earlier in August 2024.

Jasnoor Hans (Democrat) is running to represent Washington District 47 in South King County. A law school graduate currently working at a family law firm, Hans previously worked in special education.

“The teachers, home health aides, small business owners, and parents who keep this district running are tired of waiting for a government that only shows up after the damage is done,” Hans stated regarding her campaign. “There is a better way to do this job: spend public money where it changes lives.”

Hans appears on the nonpartisan primary ballot on August 4, ahead of the November 3, 2026, general election. She faces incumbent Democrat Debra Entenman.

Bajun Mavalwalla of the Democratic Party is running for election to the US House to represent Washington’s 5th Congressional District and is on the ballot for the primary on August 4. 

Mavalwalla, whose father went to the US from India when he was a teenager seeking a better life with opportunities; was born in California and served in the US Army for 20 years. In his campaign, he has spoken for the rights of immigrants and said that he “rejects the false narratives that they are criminals, don’t pay taxes, or that they vote illegally”.

Democrat Congressman Shri Thanedar, who has been the incumbent since January 2023, is on the ballot for a battleground primary election to represent Michigan's 13th Congressional District on August 4. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

He was earlier a representative in the Michigan House of Representatives for District 3 between 2021 and 2023. Born in India, Thanedar earned a Ph.D. from the University of Akron in 1982 and an MBA from Fontbonne University in 1988. 

He is an entrepreneur whose career includes owning and working as the CEO of Chemir Analytical Services, owning and working as the chairman of Azopharma Contract Pharmaceutical Services, and founding and co-owning Avomeen Analytical Services. 

He has also served as a post-doctoral research scholar with the University of Michigan. State representative Donavan McKinney is also running in the Democratic primary on August 4 and many see Thanedar facing a tough opponent.

Anil Kumar (Independent, Democratic Party) is an at-large member of the Wayne State University Board of Governors. He will not be running for re-election after his current term ends in December 2026, but he is running for election to the US House to represent Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. 

Also Read: Reena Gupta launches bid for Pleasanton City Council

He has declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3 but will not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 4.

Democrat Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, who has represented Virginia’s 10th Congressional District since 2025, is running for re-election with his name on the ballot in the midterm election on November 3. The Democratic primary for this office was cancelled, with Subramanyam advancing to the November election. 

He was elected to the US House of Representatives in November 2024, and became the sixth member of the ‘Samosa Caucus’; the informal name for the group of Indian American lawmakers. 

Subramanyam made history as the first Indian American and South Asian member of Congress not only in Virginia’s history but also on the entire East Coast and was sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita. He had also served in the Virginia General Assembly, first getting elected in 2019 and as a policy advisor and special assistant for technology policy in the White House during the Obama administration.

 

Discover more at New India Abroad.