Ami Bera, longest-serving Indian American in Congress, wins eighth term in redrawn California seat

Washington, November 4 (IANS): Ami Bera, the son of Indian immigrants and the longest-serving Indian American now in Congress, has won an eighth term in the US House of Representatives, returning as a senior Democrat on foreign affairs and intelligence at a time of strain in ties between Washington and New Delhi.

Bera won California's 3rd congressional district over Republican Robb Tucker.

Bera has represented Sacramento County since 2013. He ran this year in the 3rd district after California's redistricting.

He is the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee's subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific and sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Bera led a five-member congressional delegation to India in September 2025 just as the Trump administration announced a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas.

"I think this was a poorly thought through policy… Much lower fees of $1,000 to $4,000 were much more appropriate," Bera then said. "I think this is going to hurt American tech companies, and in fact, it may have the opposite effect — instead of creating American jobs, a tech company might say, 'Let me just expand my presence in Hyderabad or Bangalore'," he said.

After Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total to 50 per cent, Bera urged direct diplomacy.

"If President Trump were to ask me what to do, I'd say pick up the phone and call Prime Minister Modi," he said. "Encourage the Prime Minister to engage with Russia to help see if they can be a partner in bringing an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict."

"I don't think any of us think a 50 per cent tariff on a good friend is where you should go," he said.

He questioned the logic of the duties to The Print: "Why else is he not slapping a 50 per cent tariff on China? Again ill-thought through, not consulted with Congress."

At a December 2025 congressional hearing, he said the H-1B fee "disadvantages our companies."

Bera has been firm in distinguishing India from Pakistan. After the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and the military clashes that followed, he said: "At the end of the day, it really is India and Pakistan deciding as two nuclear nations, we've got to de-escalate this."

He also issued a statement condemning the Pahalgam attack and urging a de-escalation of tensions between the two countries, according to his office.

He attended Modi's June 2023 address to Congress.

Bera became co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans in 2015, the first Indian American to hold the post. He is among House members who mark Diwali on Capitol Hill.

Bera is the most centrist of the three Indian American Democrats re-elected on Tuesday. Voteview's DW-NOMINATE scores rank him 190th most liberal of the House Democrats.

House Clerk records show he broke with fellow Indian American Democrats Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal on several national security votes. He voted for the final 2026 defence authorisation bill in December 2025, for the January 2026 spending package and for a March 2026 resolution describing Iran as the largest state sponsor of terrorism. He voted against a June 2026 war-powers resolution on Lebanon.

He voted, with Khanna and Jayapal, for Iran war-powers resolutions, Ukraine aid and ending the national emergency underpinning tariffs on Canada, and against the Laken Riley Act, the Republican reconciliation bill and the 2027 defence bill.

By an IANS calculation from House Clerk records, Bera voted with the majority of Democrats about 97 per cent of the time on roll calls from January 2025 to mid-September 2026 and missed about 10 votes, the fewest of the three.

He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, and his official website lists health care availability and affordability, the Sacramento region and national security as his focus.

His website describes him as "a lifelong Californian and son of Indian immigrants." He attended public schools through medical school and earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of California, Irvine, putting himself through medical school and "graduating with less than $10,000 in debt."

He practised medicine for 20 years, serving as chief resident in internal medicine at California Pacific Medical Center and holding leadership roles at MedClinic Medical Group, his website says. His parents emigrated from Rajkot in Gujarat.

His campaign raised about $1.5 million in the 2026 cycle and had about $1.7 million in cash on hand as of October 14, according to Federal Election Commission filings.