Indian-origin Democrat Pia Dandiya wins Florida House race in US midterm elections

Indian-American Democrat Pia Dandiya won Florida’s 22nd Congressional District election, defeating Republican contender Casey Askar in the 2026 US midterm elections.

Dandiya’s victory makes her the first Indian-American to represent Florida in the US House of Representatives and the 10th Indian-American elected to the US Congress, according to reports.

Tuesday evening, The Associated Press announced Dandiya as the winner. NBC News projections show she won 51.9 percent of the vote to 48.1 percent for Askar.

Dandiya grew up in Palm Beach County to Indian immigrant parents and is a former teacher and high school principal. Before this, she was a White House Fellow and she worked for the tech giant Apple.

Her campaign focused on education, affordability and economic opportunities. She ran in a newly configured congressional district that includes portions of Palm Beach, Broward, Hendry and Collier counties.

The win further bolsters the increasing number of people of Indian descent in the US political arena.