Indian American Aruna Miller has made history after becoming the first Indian-American, in fact the first immigrant, to hold the office of Lieutenant Governor in Maryland, US. She is also the first South Asian woman to serve in the key position in America, according to reports.
Miller was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland as America voted to decide who controls its congress – composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. Democrats currently control the 100-seat Senate. They have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives too.
Reports suggest that the mid-term election race is looking good for other Indian American candidates as well. Reports quoting experts said that the House of Representatives incumbents – Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal – are likely to be re-elected. They contested on Democrat tickets.
Who is Aruna Miller
The 58-year-old Aruna Miller was born in Hyderabad and moved to the United States when she was 7. She grew up in New York where her family was based. Aruna holds a degree in civil engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. She moved to Mryland in 1990, where she worked for 25 years at the local Department of Transportation in Montgomery County.
Aruna is married to Dave Miller. Both are parents to three daughters and the family resides in Montgomery County.
Not new to politics
Aruna Miller has held legislative positions in the past as well. From 2010 to 2018, she represented District 15 in the Maryland House of Delegates. In 2018, she ran for congress in Maryland’s 6th congressional district and finished second among eight candidates. Indian American Impact (an organization that supports Indian-American representation) had backed Miller in her 2018 Democratic primaries bid. It also endorsed her for the mid-term elections. Miller had also served on Impact, having been a former executive director of the organization.
Miller was picked as running mate by Democrat governor candidate Wes Moore, who won the gubernatorial race for Maryland in the just concluded mid-terms. With this, Maryland created history in electing its first African-American governor as well as its first Indian-American lieutenant governor.
What are the US mid-terms?
Americans voted for various federal, state and local elections that will decide the US political landscape for years to come. These polls will determine if the Democrats retain their narrow grip on Congress or if Republicans are able to wrest some seats from them. If they do, this will impact US president Joe Biden’s ability to push through his agenda in the divided congress at a time when bold decisions may be required to bring the US economy back on track.
