WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — The number of Indian Americans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives has dropped from six to four this year after two members of the informal “Samosa Caucus” lost their primary bids within a span of months, according to reporting from indica News and Breitbart.
Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan’s 13th Congressional District lost his Democratic primary on Aug. 4 to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a Democratic Socialist, by a margin of 57,714 votes to 53,494, indica News reported. The district leans heavily Democratic, making McKinney the likely favorite in November, according to the outlet. Thanedar, first elected in 2022, had previously been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America before 2023, according to Breitbart.
Thanedar conceded in a social media statement cited by indica News. “It was the honor of my life to represent the 13th District in the United States Congress,” he said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois lost a separate contest in March, falling short in the Democratic primary for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated him 39.7% to 33.4%, with Rep. Robin Kelly finishing third at 18.4%, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The seat became open after Sen. Dick Durbin announced his retirement.
Krishnamoorthi entered the race with roughly $19 million on hand and received close to $10 million in backing from the cryptocurrency-aligned Fairshake PAC, according to Coindesk. Stratton was backed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, whose Illinois Future PAC helped fund ads supporting her campaign and criticizing Krishnamoorthi, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The Sun-Times also reported that Krishnamoorthi had accepted more than $90,000 in contributions from Trump-aligned donors, including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar.
Following the loss, Krishnamoorthi shifted his fundraising operation to a new political action committee, Equal Opportunity Now, which had roughly $2.37 million on hand as of the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings cited by the Chicago Sun-Times. The outlet reported he may consider a future run for his old House seat or for Illinois governor in 2030.
The departures leave four Indian Americans in the House: Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Ami Bera of California, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, according to Breitbart. The group had numbered six at the start of 2025 following the 2024 election, which brought Subramanyam into office as the first Indian American elected from Virginia, according to a list published on Thanedar’s congressional website citing Forbes India.
Not every Indian American candidate lost this cycle. Jayapal won renomination in Washington’s 7th Congressional District on Aug. 4 with 104,661 votes, or 83.44%, and will face Republican Nirav Sheth, an Indian American candidate who took 10.57% of the primary vote, in the Nov. 3 general election, according to indica News. Jayapal said in a statement cited by the outlet that her campaign priorities include immigration reform, Medicare for All and reducing the influence of corporate money in politics. Subramanyam also secured renomination in Virginia, indica News reported.
The losses come amid a broader wave of incumbent defeats in the 2026 primary season. Nine House incumbents had lost primaries as of Aug. 8, the highest number outside a redistricting year since 1970, according to NBC News. The outlet attributed the trend to voter frustration with both parties, with progressive challengers unseating moderate Democrats and Trump-backed candidates defeating Republicans who had drawn the president’s criticism.
