New Delhi: Florida Republicans redrew the boundaries. Donald Trump threw his weight behind her opponent. And yet, Democrat Pia Dandiya won Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. On Tuesday night, Dandiya defeated Republican Casey Askar with 51.9 per cent of the vote, turning a race that favoured Republicans into a setback for the party and the president, who had personally campaigned against her.
The attack came directly from Trump. In an X post endorsing Askar as his “Complete and Total” choice for the seat, the president wrote: “Pia Dandiya is Reckless, Radical, and Dangerous!” He framed the choice as one between Dandiya and a Republican who would “Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations” and “Unleash American Energy dominance”.
Dandiya did not run from the insult. Asked about it in September, she replied: “If you think lowering the cost of living and spending a career serving kids and families is radical and dangerous, then game on.”
In her victory speech, Dandiya returned to the question of redistricting, taking aim at the state’s Republican-led legislature. “You can try to redraw the line. You can try to rearrange us. But you cannot dictate the outcomes of our elections,” she said.
Who is Pia Dandiya?
Dandiya’s parents left India more than four decades ago and settled in Palm Beach County, where her father became “Dr Dandiya” and her mother taught generations of students. On election night, their daughter stood before them as a congresswoman-elect.
“That story is only possible in this country,” she said.
Born and raised in Florida, Dandiya studied at Harvard before joining Teach For America. At 28, she founded Democracy Prep Endurance High School in Harlem, becoming one of the youngest principals in the United States. Her campaign says every one of the school’s more than 300 students was admitted to college, despite most coming from low-income families. She later worked as a White House Fellow, and with Apple on public-sector education and healthcare initiatives.
At 18, during a summer in India, Dandiya helped children from slum communities stage a play that brought residents together. The experience, she said, convinced her to pursue education and help young people see possibilities they might not otherwise see. The idea of “intergenerational change” became central to her career.
“When you serve one member of a family community well, you create intergenerational change,” she said in a later interview.
That belief informed a campaign focused on everyday concerns, including affordable healthcare, lower grocery and housing costs, stronger public schools, and protecting Social Security and Medicare. She also promised to tackle corruption in Washington and work with lawmakers from either party willing to deliver results. “I’m not going to Washington to fight with people. I’m going to fight for people,” she said.
Her victory is also a boost for South Asians in American politics. Dandiya becomes the first South Asian American to represent Florida in Congress and only the second South Asian woman ever elected to the US House.
(Edited by Aakriti Handa)