Suhas Subramanyam Poised to Join "Samosa Caucus" in US Congress:
<div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Suhas Subramanyam is positioned to potentially join the "Samosa Caucus" -- a group of Indian-Americans in the US Congress -- following his victory in the Virginia Democratic primaries. He secured the Democratic nomination to contest the upcoming November general election for a House of Representatives seat from a constituency that has been held by Democrats.</p><p>Subramanyam's constituency includes some suburbs of Washington, DC. His family hails from Bengaluru. </p><p>In New Jersey's recent primaries, Indian-American Rajesh Mohan won the Republican ticket for a House seat but faces a challenge as it is a strongly Democratic constituency.</p><p>Currently, there are five Indian-Americans in the House of Representatives, all Democrats who call themselves the "Samosa Caucus." They are Ami Bera and Ro Khanna from California, Pramila Jayapal from Washington State, Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, and Shri Thanedar from Michigan.</p><p>State Senator Subramanyam prevailed over 11 other candidates in a contentious contest, with his main opponent facing allegations of sexual harassment. He was supported by retiring House member Jennifer Wexton, who secured the seat for the Democrats in 2018 and was re-elected twice, winning 53 percent of the votes in 2022, making it a relatively safe seat for the party.</p><p>Subramanyam, a 37-year-old lawyer, previously served as President Barack Obama's technology advisor, focusing on cybersecurity and modernizing government agencies. He was elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2019 and to the State Senate last year. He is also a volunteer medic and firefighter.</p><p>Mohan, a cardiologist who received his medical degree from Delhi University's College of Medical Sciences, defeated three Republican rivals and will contest from a constituency held by a Democrat. Andrew Kim, who is vacating the seat to run for the US Senate, flipped it from the Republican Party in 2018 and won his second re-election in 2022 with 55 percent of the vote. Three ratings by Ballotpedia classify it as a solid or safe Democratic seat.</p><p>In New Jersey, Ravinder Singh Bhalla, the Mayor of Hoboken, lost the Democratic primary for a House seat to Rob Menendez, who currently holds the seat. Senator Bob Menendez, the sitting representative's father, is on trial for corruption charges but ran an aggressive campaign against Bhalla, a turban-wearing Sikh, alleging quid-pro-quo deals and using unflattering images in TV ads.</p><p>Susheela Jayapal, the sister of Representative Pramila Jayapal, lost the primary for a Democratic seat in Oregon. Pramila Jayapal leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of leftist Democratic Party legislators, and represents a constituency in Washington State, neighboring Oregon where her sister Susheela Jayapal was a county commissioner and faced ideological backlash in the Democratic primaries</p><span></div>
