Indian-American candidates are seeking historic breakthroughs in the November 3 US elections, with Nithya Raman contesting Los Angeles mayor, Pooja Sethi and Jyot Singh pursuing state legislative seats, and Saritha Komatireddy challenging New York Attorney General Letitia James
Published Date – 11 October 2026, 10:11 AM
Washington: Indian-American candidates are chasing a string of firsts in the November 3 elections, from Nithya Raman’s bid to unseat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to a possible first Hindu in the Texas Legislature, after a poll published on Friday put Raman ahead in the mayoral race. The Manhattan Institute poll of likely voters had Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member, at 38 per cent and Bass at 32 per cent, according to Political Wire.
The margin of error was 4.6 points. Raman would be the city’s first Indian-American mayor. The race is nonpartisan. In the June 2 primary, Bass won 34.3 per cent and Raman 29.0 per cent.
“I’m running for mayor because I don’t want to ignore any part of this city,” Raman said at a mayoral forum on September 29. “We need to build more housing in Los Angeles, but we need to build it across every single neighborhood,” she added.
The two candidates are scheduled to meet for their final debate on Tuesday. In Austin, Democrat Pooja Sethi is running for the open Texas House District 47 seat against Republican Jennifer Mushtaler after winning her primary with about 76 per cent of the vote.
Sethi, an immigration lawyer and chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, would be the first Indian American and the first Hindu in the Texas Legislature. She drew attention earlier this year when she replied on X to Turning Point commentator Savanah Hernandez. “My heritage isn’t an insult. It’s my story. And like millions of Americans, it’s rooted in hard work, faith in this country, and service to our community. If that bothers you, that says more about you than it does about me,” Sethi wrote.
In Georgia, Democrat Jyot Singh is running for House District 97 in Gwinnett County against Republican Yassin Moghazy after winning the May 19 primary with 59.1 per cent. Singh, a Yale graduate endorsed by Congressman Ro Khanna, would be Georgia’s first Sikh elected official, according to his campaign and community media coverage.
In New York, Republican Saritha Komatireddy is challenging Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. She is the first South Asian major-party nominee for statewide office in New York. Komatireddy, born in Brooklyn to parents who came from India in the 1980s, is a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a former federal terrorism prosecutor.
President Donald Trump endorsed her in August. “You can work hard, dream big, and have a shot at achieving those dreams,” she told NY1 in August, speaking about her parents. A Siena poll conducted September 11-17 put James at 52 per cent and Komatireddy at 39 per cent, down from an 18-point lead for James in August.
In Maryland, Democrat Amar Mukunda is all but assured of a seat in the state Senate after defeating Senate Majority Leader Nancy King in the June primary in District 39 in Montgomery County. No Republican filed for the seat. Mukunda won 48.6 per cent to King’s 36.1 per cent. Mukunda, whose parents are from India and Pakistan, would be “the first South Asian state senator in Maryland,” according to a campaign-sourced report in The Sentinel.
“This campaign was not about me, nor was it about Senator King’s dedication and service to our community. It was a movement of people willing to say the obvious: our politics are stuck, the way we do things has to change, and Annapolis must deliver better results,” Mukunda said in a statement.
Also in Maryland, Hyderabad-born Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller is seeking a second term on Governor Wes Moore’s ticket. The candidates follow recent milestones.
Zohran Mamdani became New York City’s first Indian-American mayor last year, and Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley were the first two Indian-American governors. Indian American Impact counts more than 250 Indian Americans in elected office. Kumar Barve, a Maryland Democrat, became the first Indian American elected to any state legislature in 1990. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates.
