Published Nov 04, 2026 | 6:16 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 04, 2026 | 6:16 PM
Synopsis: Hyderabad-origin Democrat Nabeela Syed, 27, has defeated Republican incumbent Darby Hills to win a seat in the Illinois State Senate in the 3 November midterm elections. Her victory came amid a Democratic sweep in the US, with several other Indian-origin candidates, including Suhas Subramanyam, Pia Dandiya and Aruna Miller, also trouncing their opponents.
Nabeela Syed, a 27-year-old Democrat whose parents immigrated to the United States from Hyderabad in the 1980s, has defeated Republican incumbent Darby Hills to win a seat in the Illinois State Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Syed’s victory came in the 3 November election, one of the most expensive legislative contests in Illinois, with candidates drawing $6.5 million in contributions. Affordability, healthcare and the rising number of data centres dominated her campaign.
Born and raised in Palatine, Illinois, Syed first entered electoral politics in 2022, when she was 23. She won the 51st District seat in the Illinois House of Representatives and retained it in the 2024 election before contesting the State Senate.
In a 2022 interview with NBC News after becoming the youngest member of the Illinois General Assembly, Syed spoke about her parents’ sacrifices.
“I’m very grateful for all the sacrifices they made so that I could live here,” she said. “Never in their wildest dreams did they think that I would run for political office. And here I am running for office and winning, and it’s because of them…My mother said if I didn’t do it, who would?”
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Syed’s victory came amid a sweeping electoral gain for the Democratic Party in the United States. The party regained control of both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, three years and nine months after losing control of both.
The elections also produced major upsets in Texas and Iowa. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, handing the Democrats a Senate victory in the state for the first time in 32 years. Paxton’s campaign was marred by scandals.
In Iowa, Josh Turek, a former wheelchair basketball gold medallist, was elected.
Several other candidates of Indian origin also secured victories. Democrat Suhas Subramanyam, 40, whose Tamil parents have roots in Bengaluru and Chennai, was re-elected to the US House of Representatives from Virginia.
Pia Dandiya, a first-generation American whose parents are from Jaipur, defeated Republican Marine veteran Casey Askar in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.
Aruna Miller, who was born in Hyderabad, was re-elected Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. She took office in January 2023, becoming the first South Asian-American woman and the first immigrant to hold statewide office in Maryland.
In Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy, a favourite of President Donald Trump, lost the gubernatorial election to Democrat Amy Acton. Ramaswamy faced heavy criticism over an advertisement widely seen as a below-the-belt attack.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
