Sandeep Srivastava gets Democratic nod for US Congress in Texas

Indian American real estate broker Sandeep Srivastava, who ran uncontested from Texas’ 3rd Congressional District, has won the Democratic nomination. He will face incumbent Republican Rep. Keith Self in November.

Srivastava lost to Self in the 2022 midterms. Srivastava is a first-generation immigrant and learned the importance of giving back and helping others at a young age from his mother who was an elected official in India.

He moved to the US with his wife and two children to pursue the American Dream. A few years later, he established a South Asian organization that engaged stakeholders in the community before starting his own real estate business in Plano.

READ: Indian American Impact endorses Sandeep Srivastava, 14 other candidates (February 9, 2024)

After a successful career in business, he and his wife started a daycare center, to fill a void in the community for quality and affordable childcare.

As a father of two, Srivastava says on his website that he “has deep roots in District 3” and believes “that his small business experience, exceptional managerial skills, and desire to better the community is the exact type of leadership this district needs.

He is a long-time community activist, advocating for women’s rights, promoting gun safety to reduce gun violence, and supporting Pre-K education for all as well as universal healthcare.

READ: Indian Americans in race for 2022 mid-term elections (November 6, 2022)

To encourage immigrants like himself, Srivastava founded a non-profit organization that assists fellow immigrants in transitioning to the United States and enabling them to achieve their American dream.

Indian American Impact (IAI), an organization that invests in uplifting South Asian American candidates and mobilizing South Asian voters across the country, congratulated the candidate.

“Congratulations to @sandeepfortexas for securing the Democratic nomination in Texas’s 3rd congressional district! If elected this fall, he’ll represent a district with nearly 60,000 South Asian residents — a major step for increased representation in TX and the U.S. Congress,” the post read.

Also advancing to the general election is Sherine Thomas, who is running for election for judge of the Texas 353rd District Court.

After moving to the US from New Delhi in 1971, she chose to devote her legal career to public service, a decision that placed her on the path to becoming a Judge.

She gained her extensive legal knowledge and experience at the Travis County Attorney’s Office. She continually rose through the ranks while representing the people of Travis County in some of the most consequential legal battles to protect the environment, marriage equality, public health and more.

READ: Ro Khanna, Ami Bera prevail in California primaries (March 6, 2024)

Currently, she serves on the Board for the Travis County Women’s Lawyer Association and co-chairs the Mentorship Committee. She is also on the Executive Board for the Calvert Inn of Court, serves on the Editorial Board for The Bencher, and was appointed to serve on the State Bar of Texas District 9 Grievance Committee. She is a founding member and current Chair for the South Asian Bar Association Austin.

In Los Angeles, Indian American urban planner Nithya Raman, who is running for a second term in the city council from district 4, is leading her two challengers — Levon ‘Lev’ Baronian and Ethan Weaver.

“Housing affordability and homelessness are key issues in a recently-redrawn district, where a large number of constituents never had the opportunity to vote for Raman before,” LA List reported.

Raman was first elected to the city council in 2020. She previously worked as an urban planner and as the executive director of Time’s Up Entertainment.

In the Texas Senate races, Karthik Soora lost his bid in the 15th District. He received 3,073 votes, or 6.25%. Born and raised in Lille Rock, Arkansas, Soora attended Rice University in Houston, where he earned a triple major in Political Science, History, and Asian Studies with a minor in Global Health Technologies.

He helped co-found the Texas Chapter of TheySeeBlue, a volunteer organization dedicated to mobilizing South Asians in Texas.

Indian American Shekhar Sinha also lost his bid to the Texas House  from District 121. He immigrated from India and graduated from Penn State with dual Master’s in Math and Computer Science in 1989.

He’s worked in the IT (Information Technology) industry in USA for 33 years in both technical and management positions.

In the race for Texas District Judge in the Harris County 127th Civil District Court, Ravi K. Sandill lost to Denise Brown. He has served as judge of the 127th Civil District Court in Harris County since 2009, and is the first ever district court judge in Texas of South Asian descent.

He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston Law Center.  He is a former briefing attorney for Ret. Justice Murry B. Cohen of Texas’s First District Court of Appeals.