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How Indian Americans fared: California New Jersey primary takeaways
From Silicon Valley to New Jersey, Indian American candidates see mixed primary results
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 03, Jun 2026
- 14:42 EDT
- 47
(Top L-R) Tina Shah. Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Rakhi Israni/ (Bottom L-R) Sujit Singh, Nithya Raman, Ritesh Tandon, Jasmeet Bains, Jay Vaingankar / File Photo
Indian American candidates posted mixed results in the June 2 primary elections of California and New Jersey, with Congressmen Ro Khanna and Ami Bera advancing toward reelection while several challengers fell short in congressional and mayoral contests.
Khanna delivered one of the strongest performances among Indian American candidates, winning California's 17th Congressional District primary with 38,105 votes, or 57.9 percent.
Also Read: Tina Shah, Sujit Singh, Vaingankar lose New Jersey Democratic primary races
Republican Ritesh Tandon finished second with 11,337 votes (17.2 percent), positioning himself to advance under California's top-two primary system. Democrat Ethan Agarwal received 4,053 votes (6.2 percent), placing fourth.
Khanna dominated both counties that make up the district. In Alameda County, he secured 4,741 votes (58.2 percent), while in Santa Clara County he won 33,364 votes (57.8 percent).
Another Indian American incumbent, Ami Bera, advanced from California's 3rd Congressional District. Bera received 38,460 votes, or 33 percent, finishing second behind Republican Robb Tucker, who secured 39,949 votes (34.3 percent).
Bera led the field in Sacramento County with 23,696 votes (41.8 percent) and also received 8,338 votes (26.1 percent) in Placer County, 4,203 votes (20.7 percent) in Nevada County and 2,223 votes (28.9 percent) in El Dorado County.
Several Indian American challengers, however, were unable to secure winning positions.
In California's 22nd Congressional District, Democratic Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains received 10,529 votes, or 25.7 percent, trailing incumbent Republican David Valadao at 44.5 percent and Democrat Randy Villegas at 29.8 percent. With approximately 55.8 percent of expected votes counted, Bains was running third and outside the top two positions needed to advance.
In California's 14th Congressional District, Democrat Rakhi Israni received 7,815 votes, or 11.5 percent, finishing fifth in a crowded field. State Sen. Aisha Wahab led with 23,296 votes (34.3 percent), followed by Melissa Hernandez with 10,933 votes (16.1 percent) and Republican Wendy Huang with 10,839 votes (16 percent).
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman also fell short in her bid to become mayor of Los Angeles. Raman finished third with 110,848 votes, or 22.3 percent, behind incumbent Karen Bass, who received 172,720 votes (34.8 percent), and Spencer Pratt, who secured 151,149 votes (30.4 percent).
New Jersey
In New Jersey, physician Tina Shah failed to win the Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional District. Shah finished second with 11,289 votes, or 20 percent, while Rebecca Bennett won the primary with 25,671 votes (45.5 percent).
Shah's support was strongest in Somerset County, where she received 2,717 votes (24.4 percent). She also won 1,373 votes (18.7 percent) in Morris County, 732 votes (21.1 percent) in Sussex County and 1,407 votes (12.8 percent) in Hunterdon County. Bennett will now face Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. in November.
The outcome was less favorable for Indian American candidates in New Jersey's open 12th Congressional District race. Sujit Singh received 2,886 votes (4 percent), finishing ninth in the 13-candidate
Democratic field, while Jay Vaingankar secured 2,189 votes (3 percent) and placed tenth. The nomination was won by Adam Hamawy, who received 20,437 votes, or 28.1 percent.
Singh's strongest showing came in Middlesex County, where he won 1,435 votes (4.8 percent). Vaingankar also drew most of his support from Middlesex County, receiving 905 votes (3 percent) there, along with 592 votes (2.8 percent) in Mercer County and 579 votes (3.4 percent) in Somerset County.
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