Indian-origin candidates Rikin Mehta and Sara Gideon have lost their Senate race from New Jersey and Maine respectively, according to projections made by US media Tuesday night.
Born to an Indian father and an Armenian mother, Gideon, the current Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, lost to Republican Senator Susan Collins.
Collins received 4.09,974 votes to Gideon’s 3.39,364 pocketed. This was Collins’ fifth consecutive victory. In his comments, he publicly thanked Gideon for “a very kind call,” granting the race.
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Gideon’s father emigrated from India and worked as a pediatrician in Rhode Island, where Gideon grew up, the youngest of four children. She moved to Maine after meeting her husband Ben, a personal injury trial attorney at the Berman & Simons law firm.
“While these elections may be over, we have to work together to build a better future, one in which everyone has access to affordable healthcare, in which we tackle our climate crisis head-on, and in which we restore our economy. prioritizing difficulties. hardworking people in our communities, ”Gideon said in his comments.
“I am proud of the campaign we carried out and regardless of the outcome, together we are building a movement that will help us progress in the years to come,” she said.
Republican Rick Mehta lost the election to Democratic incumbent Cory Booker. Booker received 60.4 percent of the votes counted compared to 38 percent for Mehta.
Kamala Harris of California is the first female senator of Indian origin to be elected to the United States Senate.
This election year, Harris (56) has made history by being the first Indian-born vice presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. She is also the first black and African American to run for vice president of a major political party.
Mehta, a former US Food and Drug Administration official, was the first American Indian to win the Republican Senate primary in New Jersey. Mehta, a biotechnology entrepreneur, innovator, health policy expert and pharmacist, and licensed attorney, earned his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Rutgers University and his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
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