Washington, November 2026 : Indian-American Democrat Pia Dandiya has secured a closely contested seat in the US House of Representatives from Florida, according to projections by Decision Desk HQ and CBS News, marking an early success for Democrats in the 2026 US midterm elections. The result came as the party made significant gains in several states, including a projected Senate victory in North Carolina, while Republican Indian-American candidate Vivek Ramaswamy trailed Democrat Amy Acton in Ohio's gubernatorial contest.
Dandiya defeated Republican candidate Casey Askar in Florida's 22nd Congressional District, a newly redrawn constituency in South Florida that had emerged as one of the closely watched House races. Decision Desk HQ projected her victory at 8:05 pm, while CBS News also called the contest in her favour.
NBC News reported that Dandiya was leading with 51.9 per cent of the vote against Askar's 48.1 per cent, with approximately 97.6 per cent of the expected vote counted. More than 292,000 votes had been tallied at the time.
A former school principal, Dandiya focused her campaign on economic affordability and expanding opportunities for residents. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee congratulated her, saying she had concentrated on issues affecting South Florida, including the rising cost of living and ensuring that people had opportunities to achieve the American Dream.
Indian-American Representative Pramila Jayapal also welcomed Dandiya's projected victory. In a post on X, Jayapal said she was excited to welcome the third South Asian American woman to the House of Representatives.
Indian-American Democrats Secure Key Victories
Dandiya's projected victory was among several early successes for Indian-American Democrats in the 2026 US midterm elections.
In Virginia, Democratic incumbent Suhas Subramanyam was projected to win re-election in the 10th Congressional District, according to NBC News. The latest figures showed him securing 61.4 per cent of the vote against Republican challenger Dave Beckwith, who received 36.5 per cent, with around 88.7 per cent of the expected vote counted. Independent candidate Ahsen Malik was also in the contest.
Subramanyam, who first entered Congress in 2025, is set to serve a second two-year term. He became Virginia's first Indian-American member of Congress after winning election in 2024.
"The campaign is over, but the work is just beginning. I look forward to working with our community to deliver change in Washington," Subramanyam posted on X following the projection.
In neighbouring Maryland, Indian-American Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller also secured another term after NBC News projected Democratic Governor Wes Moore's re-election. Miller ran on the Democratic ticket alongside Moore and defeated Republican lieutenant governor candidate Rob Krop, the running mate of former state delegate Dan Cox.
Her re-election ensures the continuation of Indian-American representation in one of the senior executive positions in Maryland's state government.
These results provided early momentum for Indian-American Democrats, although several other closely watched contests involving candidates from the community remained undecided.
Vivek Ramaswamy Trails in Ohio Governor's Race
In Ohio, Democratic candidate Amy Acton maintained a lead over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for governor. According to NBC News, Acton had secured 54.3 per cent of the vote against Ramaswamy's 42.8 per cent, with approximately 46 per cent of the expected vote counted and around 2.2 million votes tallied.
The network said the contest was too early to call. Its analysis indicated that Ramaswamy would need to win 53.5 per cent of the remaining vote to overtake Acton.
Earlier in the evening, when approximately a quarter of the expected votes had been counted, Acton had led by around 63 per cent to 34 per cent.
Ramaswamy, a biotechnology entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, entered the gubernatorial contest with the endorsement of President Donald Trump and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. He is seeking to succeed DeWine, who cannot run again because of term limits.
Acton, a physician and former Ohio health director, emerged as the Democratic candidate in a race that attracted national attention because of Ramaswamy's political profile and his association with Trump.
In North Carolina's 4th Congressional District, Republican candidate Mahesh "Max" Ganorkar lost to Democratic Representative Valerie Foushee, according to an NBC News projection. Foushee was leading with 82.9 per cent of the vote against Ganorkar's 15.6 per cent, with approximately 78 per cent of the expected vote counted.
In Massachusetts, Democratic Senator Ed Markey was projected to win another term, defeating challenges that included independent Indian-American candidate Shiva Ayyadurai and Republican John Deaton.
Several Indian-American Races Still Undecided
Indian-American candidates were also contesting legislative and local-level positions across several states, with counting still underway in a number of constituencies.
In Georgia, Democrat Jyot Singh was leading Republican Yassin Moghazy in the state House District 97 race. Unofficial Gwinnett County results, updated at 8:49 pm, showed Singh with 10,491 votes, or 70.6 per cent, against Moghazy's 4,375 votes, or 29.4 per cent. The contest had not been officially called.
In Texas, Indian-American Democrat Pooja Sethi was challenging Republican Jennifer Mushtaler for an open seat in House District 47. The Texas Secretary of State's results page, last updated at 7:57 pm, did not show any votes counted in the race at that stage.
In New York, Indian-American Republican Saritha Komatireddy was challenging Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. With polls closing at 9 pm, NBC News had not reported any votes counted in the contest.
In Arizona, Indian-American Democrat Amish Shah was facing Republican Jay Feely in the 1st Congressional District. Meanwhile, voting was continuing in California, where Representatives Ro Khanna and Ami Bera were seeking re-election and Nithya Raman was contesting the Los Angeles mayoral election. Pramila Jayapal was also on the ballot in Washington, where polling stations were due to close at 11 pm Eastern time.
Democrats Register Senate Gains
At the national level, Democrats registered an important breakthrough in the Senate when former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was projected to defeat Republican Michael Whatley. The seat became vacant following the retirement of Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
NBC News showed Cooper leading by approximately 61 per cent to 37 per cent, with around 72 per cent of the expected vote counted.
"North Carolina — I'm grateful for your trust," Cooper posted on X after the projection.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff was also projected to win re-election in Georgia, defeating Republican Congressman Mike Collins. Ossoff was leading with 60.2 per cent of the vote against Collins's 39.8 per cent, with approximately 71 per cent of the vote counted.
Democrat Chris Pappas won the Senate race in New Hampshire, while Republican Senator Ashley Moody was projected to win the Florida special election for the seat previously held by Marco Rubio. Democratic Senator Mark Warner had earlier claimed another term in Virginia.
"Thank you, Virginia! I'm honored and grateful to continue serving as your United States Senator," Warner posted on X.
US Congress Control Remains in Focus
Republicans entered election night with a 53-47 majority in the Senate. At approximately 9 pm Eastern time, NBC News counted 45 Democratic and 34 Republican seats, including seats not being contested in this election, with Democrats ahead by one seat in the overall balance.
The battle for the House of Representatives was also closely watched. A party needs 218 seats to secure a majority, and Democrats require a net gain of three seats to take control. At the time, NBC News had projected 74 seats for Democrats and 32 for Republicans, with several competitive constituencies still being counted. Virginia's 1st and 2nd congressional districts were among the closely watched races.
Democratic Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and JB Pritzker of Illinois were also projected to win re-election, adding to the party's state-level successes.
As counting continued across the country, neither Trump nor the White House had commented on the emerging results on X by approximately 9 pm Eastern time.
The early projections highlighted the growing visibility of Indian-American candidates in US politics, with victories and strong performances across congressional and state-level contests. However, several races remained unresolved, leaving the final balance of power in Congress and the complete electoral picture dependent on further results.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
