Indian-origin Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has lost the Ohio governor's race to Democrat Amy Acton in the US midterm elections, marking a setback for the Republican Party despite US President Donald Trump's endorsement of his candidature.
Acton defeated Ramaswamy to become the first woman elected governor of Ohio and the first Democrat to win the state's gubernatorial office in 20 years, according to projections by the Associated Press.
The results came as at least 57 Indian-American candidates contested elections across the United States, seeking positions in Congress, state legislatures, governorships and local government bodies.
While Ramaswamy suffered a defeat, several Indian-American Democratic candidates secured victories. Pramila Jayapal won re-election to the US House of Representatives from Washington's 7th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race in her favour, with Jayapal receiving 87.47% of the votes counted at the time.
Democrat Suhas Subramanyam won re-election to the US House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th Congressional District. In Maryland, Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller was re-elected alongside Governor Wes Moore. Meanwhile, Pia Dandiya won Florida's 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican Casey Askar.
The Indian-American candidates represented different political affiliations, including Democrats, Republicans and independents. At least nine of the 57 candidates were Republicans, including Ramaswamy, according to a tally by the Indo-American News Service (IANS).
The IANS tally comprised one candidate for the US Senate, 11 for the House of Representatives, three for statewide offices, 36 for state legislatures and six for local positions. Another 15 candidates believed to be of Indian origin were excluded because their heritage could not be independently verified.
Several other prominent Indian-origin candidates were also in the electoral contest. Nithya Raman contested the Los Angeles mayoral election against incumbent Karen Bass, while Democratic Congressmen Ro Khanna and Ami Bera sought re-election to the US House of Representatives from California.
The November 3 midterm elections were the first major electoral test of Trump's second presidency. Voters decided the composition of Congress, with Democrats winning control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, according to the Associated Press.