Election results are still being announced, and many races will not be played for days or even weeks.
But there are already candidates who have made history in the 2022 midterm elections.
Maryland Lieutenant Governor-Elect Aruna Miller
Aluna Miller will become Maryland’s first Asian-American lieutenant governor. She tweeted after her victory: “Maryland, tonight you showed the nation what a small but mighty nation can do when democracy votes. You choose to unite over divide, to expand power over restraint Rights, hope and not fear.”
Miller, 58, is from Hyderabad, India, and immigrated to the United States when he was seven.
She graduated in civil engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 1989. In 2000, she was sworn in as a citizen.
She is a former representative in the Maryland House of Representatives who ran on the lieutenant gubernatorial vote with Democratic Gov.-elect Wes Moore.
Shri Thanedar, Michigan Congressman-elect
Entrepreneur Shri Thanedar will become the first Indian-American elected to Congress to represent Detroit Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
He immigrated to the United States from Belgaum, India, in 1979 at the age of 24. He purchased and expanded a pharmaceutical services company in St. Louis, Missouri, and started a chemical testing company in Ann Arbor.
The victory marked the first time in 70 years that Detroit, a city of 77 percent black, has no black representation in Congress.
He campaigned for universal health care, reproductive rights and equitable access to education, and poured millions of his own money into the campaign.
Victoria Gu, State Senator-elect, Rhode Island
Chinese-American Victoria Gu won a seat in Rhode Island’s state legislature.
“I will try to provide the best possible representation for all voters, and I am ready to address many of the issues that I have discussed during my campaign,” she said on Nov. 8.
Although new to elected politics, Gu most recently chaired the Charlestown Resilience Commission.
She was raised by parents who immigrated from China and earned a degree in economics from Harvard University. She works as a senior software engineer at LunaYou, a maternity benefits platform.
Linda Ujifusa, Senator-elect from Rhode Island
Japanese-American Linda Ujifusa also won a seat in the Rhode Island state legislature—she and Gu were the first Asians to be elected to the legislature.
A third-generation Japanese American, her grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1920s. During World War II, her mother’s family was forced into the Tule Lake internment camp and lost their farm.
Ujibo is a graduate of Harvard University and a law degree from New York University. She previously worked for a Boston law firm and the Environmental Protection Agency.
While the number of Asian Americans elected to Congress has steadily increased over the years and is now at record highs, they remain severely underrepresented in politics.
A 2021 report found that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) elected officials make up 0.9 percent of U.S. elected leaders, even though they make up 6.1 percent of the population.
In the federal government, AAPIs represent 2.8 percent of all elected officials.
