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Ro Khanna claims landslide victory in California primary
Khanna is leading the race with 59.8% of the vote, with his nearest competitor, Tandon, trailing with 16.2%, narrowly beating Phan's 12.2%.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 03, Jun 2026
- 02:26 EDT
- 31
L-R: Ethan Agarwal; Ro Khanna / Courtesy: X/@ethanagarwal; Wikipedia
Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna has retained his ticket to potentially continue his congressional run after a dominant performance in the California 17th Congressional District primary.
Announcing his win, Khanna said on X, "Tonight, we showed that you can stand up to billionaires in the heart of Silicon Valley and prevail. When I supported a billionaire tax, the tech lords recruited a candidate to primary me and spent $1 million on false attacks."
He added, "They predicted an 'end' to my career. The results speak for themselves. The progressive movement can win anywhere!"
Khanna has steered way ahead of all his primary rivals while the competition for the second spot continues to run tight between Indian American Republicans Ritesh Tandon and Jennie Ha Phan.
ALSO READ: Palpable energy to replace Ro Khanna says Indian American challenger
California uses a nonpartisan "top-two" primary system for congressional elections. In this system, all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same primary ballot. Voters can choose any candidate, regardless of their own party affiliation, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, even if they belong to the same party.
At 12:15 a.m. ET, Khanna led the race with 59.8% of the vote, with his nearest competitor, Tandon, trailing with 16.2%, narrowly beating Phan's 12.2%.
The third Indian American on the list, Ethan Agarwal, whose campaign largely focused on attacking Khanna's work and policies, was trailing with 6.1% of the vote.
Khanna, in his X post, also congratulated his closest Democratic rival, Agarwal, and said, "I also want to congratulate Ethan Agarwal for running. It's not easy to put yourself out there. I lost twice before winning. I hope you'll stay engaged."
Khanna's dominant win in the primary clears the coast for likely Democratic dominance in the upcoming general election, considering California's largely partisan voting patterns in past elections.
Khanna has been a Democratic congressman representing California's Silicon Valley-based 17th Congressional District since 2017. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is known for his work on technology policy, economic issues and U.S.-India relations.
Khanna's win is also significant after his Republican ally, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, lost his primary after the two partnered to take on the Donald Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files case, even personally attacking Trump on several occasions. Khanna had attributed this loss to their joint efforts in fighting for Epstein's victims and their push for transparency, leading to President Trump campaigning against Massie.
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