Pia Dandiya Wins Florida's 22nd Congressional District Seat

Democrat Pia Dandiya won the election for Florida's newly created 22nd Congressional District, defeating Republican businessman and Marine Corps veteran Casey Askar. According to the Associated Press, Dandiya secured 51.9% of the vote to Askar's 48.1%.

The victory makes Dandiya the first Indian American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida and the 10th in U.S. history. The win is particularly notable because the district was redrawn by the Republican-controlled Florida State Legislature to favor the GOP; the area was carried by Donald Trump by approximately 10 percentage points in 2024.

A former teacher and Harlem school principal who served as a White House Fellow at the Department of Education, Dandiya campaigned on a platform of universal pre-K, reinstating reproductive rights, government accountability, and addressing the affordability crisis. Her victory ensures at least one newly elected Indian American representative in the next Congress at a time when the community's current six-member House delegation may be reduced.