Indian Americans at the ballot - California primary takeaways

Indian American candidates saw both breakthroughs and setbacks in California’s June 2 primary, with incumbents Ro Khanna and Ami Bera sailing ahead while several challengers fell short.

In the 17th Congressional District, Democrat Ro Khanna delivered one of the strongest showings by an Indian American, winning 57.9 percent of the vote with 38,105 ballots cast in his favor. He dominated across both Alameda and Santa Clara counties and will face Republican Ritesh Tandon, who finished a distant second with 17.2 percent. Democrat Ethan Agarwal placed fourth with 6.2 percent.

In the 3rd District, long-time incumbent Ami Bera advanced after taking 33 percent of the vote, finishing narrowly behind Republican Robb Tucker at 34.3 percent but leading in key population centers such as Sacramento County.

Elsewhere, Indian American challengers struggled to break through. In the 22nd District, Democrat Jasmeet Bains was running third and outside the top two needed to advance. In the 14th District, Democrat Rakhi Israni finished fifth with 11.5 percent. Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman also fell short in her mayoral bid, placing third behind incumbent Karen Bass and challenger Spencer Pratt.