- Pramila Jayapal and Nirav Sheth advance to November's general election.
- Jayapal won 83.3% of the vote in Washington's all-party primary.
- Sheth finished second with 10.8%, securing the GOP spot.
- Jayapal has represented the Seattle-area district since 2017.
- Sheth is a U.S. Marine veteran and former police officer.
Two Indian American candidates will face each other in November for Washington state's 7th Congressional District, as five-term Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal takes on Republican challenger Nirav Sheth.
Jayapal, the incumbent, secured 83.3 per cent of the vote in Tuesday's (5) all-party primary in the heavily Democratic district, while Sheth, a former police officer and businessman, finished a distant second with 10.8 per cent, according to results projected by The Associated Press after 53 per cent of ballots had been counted.
Washington uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates receiving the most votes advance to the general election.
The 60-year-old Jayapal made history in 2016 as the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Born in Chennai, India, on Sept. 21, 1965, she moved to the United States at age 16 to attend Georgetown University.
Over the past decade, Jayapal has become one of the Democratic Party's leading progressive voices in Congress. Backed early in her political career by Sen. Bernie Sanders, she went on to chair the Congressional Progressive Caucus, one of the largest ideological groups within the House Democratic Caucus. She currently serves as Chair Emerita of the caucus, which represents nearly half of House Democrats, according to her congressional biography.
Her challenger, 40-year-old Nirav Sheth, was born and raised in Ahmedabad, India, and came to the United States in 2008 to study computer and electrical engineering, according to his campaign website.
In 2011, Sheth enlisted in the US Marine Corps, where he served as an aircraft mechanic. After leaving the military, he joined the Lakewood Police Department in Washington state but later left law enforcement because of injuries related to his military service.
Sheth entered politics in 2023, citing frustration over repeated break-ins at several of his businesses in Washington state.
"The reason for me running for the office is all this stupidity we're dealing with because this administration is a complete failure," Sheth said during an appearance on the Jason Rantz podcast in 2023.
Despite advancing to the general election, Sheth faces an uphill battle in the 7th Congressional District, which includes Seattle and nearby communities and has consistently voted Democratic. Jayapal has represented the district since first winning election in 2016 and remains a strong favorite to retain the seat in November.
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