Washington, November 4, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian-born Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has won a sixth term in the US House of Representatives, retaining her seat in Washington state’s 7th Congressional District with a commanding lead over Republican challenger Nirav Sheth.
Jayapal secured around 88 per cent of the vote against Sheth’s 12 per cent, with approximately 54 per cent of ballots counted when the race was called. She is the first South Asian American woman elected to the House and remains the only sitting member of Congress who has held both a student visa and an H-1B work visa.
Her victory will return her to a House that Democrats are set to control. She serves as the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee.
Jayapal was born in Chennai and grew up in India, Indonesia and Singapore. She moved to the United States alone at the age of 16 to study at Georgetown University and later earned an MBA from Northwestern University.
In a 2023 statement, she described India as her birthplace, where her parents still live, and said she had been an Indian citizen for three decades before becoming a US citizen.
Jayapal has frequently drawn on her immigration experience to oppose restrictions on legal immigration introduced by the Trump administration, including a $100,000 H-1B visa fee. At a congressional hearing in December 2025, she criticised what she described as the administration’s closure of legal immigration pathways and raised concerns about increasing anti-Indian hate.
She also opposed tariffs on Indian goods, arguing that they hurt both India’s economy and American businesses and consumers.
Following the April 2025 terror attack in Pahalgam, she condemned the violence and expressed solidarity with the victims.
According to an analysis of House Clerk records cited in the source report, Jayapal voted with the Democratic majority in around 96 per cent of roll-call votes between January 2025 and mid-September 2026. She missed approximately 48 votes during the period.
A prominent progressive voice in Congress, Jayapal previously chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus and now serves as its chair emerita. She also chairs the immigration task force of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and serves on committees dealing with foreign affairs and the budget.
Her legislative priorities include the Medicare for All Act, the College for All Act, the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act and the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act. She has also advocated a pathway to citizenship, a $15 minimum wage and stronger collective bargaining rights.
Her campaign raised around $3 million during the 2026 election cycle and had approximately $2 million in cash on hand as of October 14, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
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