Page 18 - The Indian EYE 112026

NA Newsline-Special Section NOVEMBER 20, 2026 | The Indian Eye 18

Indian American Impact emerges as a

powerful force in electing Indian American

candidates across the US

Chintan Patel of Indian American Impact Roopa Gir of IAPAC Danny Gaekwad of Florida

also evident in state legislatures. Priya The organisation also commis- In Texas, Dr Roopa Gir has
OUR BUREAU
Sundareshan became Arizona Sen- sioned a nationwide poll of South emerged as an important figure in
Washington, DC ate president-elect after Democrats Asian voters in late September. Sixty efforts to encourage Indian Ameri-
flipped the chamber, while Ranjeev per cent of respondents said they in- cans to participate in public affairs.
he results of the November Puri emerged as Michigan House tended to vote Democratic in con- As president of the Indian American
2026 midterm elections under- speaker-elect after Democrats se- gressional elections, while 16 per cent Political Action Committee (IAPAC)
Tline that growing role Indian cured a political trifecta in the state. remained undecided. Significantly, of Greater Houston, she has worked
American Impact, which mobilised Pooja Sethi became the first Indian a quarter of South Asian voters who to bring elected representatives and
and invested more than $2.3 million American woman elected to the Tex- had supported Donald Trump in 2024 candidates closer to the communi-
in candidate support and voter mobil- as legislature, and Jyot Singh the first said they planned to vote Democratic ty through political engagement and
isation during the election cycle. The Sikh American elected to the Georgia in 2026. public forums.
Impact Fund endorsed 57 candidates legislature. Responding to concerns about ris- Gir, a former senior executive at
across different levels of the ballot. Chintan Patel, executive director ing hostility towards immigrant com- energy services company Schlumberg-
As of November 13, 47 had won, one of Indian American Impact, said the munities, Impact convened members er, took over as IAPAC president in
race was heading for a runoff and victories reflected the growing politi- of Congress and more than a dozen March 2022. The organisation, which
four remained too close to call. cal strength of South Asian communi- South Asian elected representatives has been active for more than 25 years,
Among the most prominent vic- ties. He highlighted the elected repre- on Capitol Hill to discuss the challeng- seeks to strengthen the political voice
tories was that of Nithya Raman, who sentatives’ commitments to reducing es facing the community. It also organ- of Indian Americans in the Houston
defeated incumbent Karen Bass to be- costs for working families, expanding ised listening sessions in Georgia with region.
come mayor-elect of Los Angeles. She healthcare access and protecting im- Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, In Florida, businessman and po-
will be the first South Asian American migrants. Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hash- litical fundraiser Danny Gaekwad
to lead the nation’s second-largest city. Impact’s strategy during the elec- mi and local elected officials, and in has been another influential figure in
Impact had supported Raman since tion cycle extended beyond supporting Texas with Congresswoman Prami- expanding the community’s political
her campaign for the Los Angeles City individual candidates. It concentrated la Jayapal and state representatives. footprint. Based in Ocala, Gaekwad
Council and endorsed her mayoral bid on four states — Texas, North Caro- Another session with Congressman has developed extensive connections
in April. lina, Georgia and Michigan — where Suhas Subramanyam is planned in within Republican circles and has sup-
The organisation also celebrat- South Asian voters could potentially Virginia in December. ported candidates across different lev-
ed the election of two new Indian influence closely contested federal els of government.
American members of Congress: Dr races. Its activities included launch- Local political networks in A prominent supporter of Re-
Amish Shah in Arizona and Pia Dan- ing canvassing campaigns, organising Texas and Florida publican Governor Ron DeSantis,
diya in Florida. Shah will be the first phone banks and running text-mes- The growing political participa- Gaekwad has used his business and
Indian American to represent Arizo- sage voter outreach programmes. tion of Indian Americans, however, community networks to mobilise In-
na in Congress, while Dandiya will be In Michigan, it organised a Di- is not confined to the national organ- dian American voters and donors. He
the first from Florida. wali Light Up the Vote rally featur- isation. State-level political action hosted a virtual rally for DeSantis that
Four other Impact-endorsed law- ing Senator-elect Abdul El Sayed, committees, community leaders, fund- attracted around 120,000 viewers, ac-
makers — Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson and raisers and business figures have also cording to an account of his political
Ro Khanna and Suhas Subramanyam Speaker-elect Ranjeev Puri, connect- played an important role in connect- activities. He has also supported Indi-
— secured re-election. ing cultural celebrations with electoral ing the diaspora with the American an American candidates across party
The organisation’s influence was participation. political system. lines.

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