New Jersey

Nearly 5% of New Jersey’s population is South Asian, more than any other state in the nation. Over 1 million Asians live in New Jersey, with Indian Americans making up the largest ethnic group. South Asians have put down roots all over the state but are especially concentrated in Middlesex County in places like Edison, Plainsboro, and South Brunswick where South Asians make up around 40% of the population living in those areas.

Upendra Chivikula was the first Indian American elected to the New Jersey legislature in 2001 and since then, South Asians have had electoral success throughout the state. Ravi Bhalla was the first Sikh to be directly elected mayor of any American city when he became mayor of Hoboken in 2017. At the time, he was considered unelectable because of his appearance. By his re-election in 2021, he was uncontested. In 2019, Governor Murphy appointed Gurbir Grewal as the first Sikh state attorney general in the United States.

From school board to the legislature, there are more South Asian elected officials in New Jersey than any other state. The community has also been critical to elections, including the narrow margin by which Governor Phil Murphy was reelected by less than 85,000 votes.

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NJ

Elected Officials

  • A.J. Joshi

    School Board (Local)

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  • Ajay Patil

    City Council

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  • Ajmar Johal

    City Council

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  • Akshar Sidana

    School Board (Local)

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  • Alaa Matari

    City Council

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  • Amrita Singh

    School Board (Local)

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  • Anand Shah

    City Council

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  • Aneesh Kanthan

    School Board (Local)

  • Archana Grover

    City Council

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  • Balvir Singh

    County Official (Other)

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  • Chetali Khanna

    School Board (Local)

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  • Dave Desai

    City Council

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  • Haissam Jaafar

    School Board (Local)

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  • Hemant Marathe

    Mayor

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  • Jayesh Patel

    School Board (Local)

  • Joyce Mehta

    School Board (Local)

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  • Kanaiyalal Patel

    School Board (Local)

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  • Kapil Shah

    City Council

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  • Kazi Islam

    School Board (Local)

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  • Keerti Purohit

    School Board (Local)

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  • Mariam Khan

    School Board (Local)

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  • Mohamed Khairullah

    Mayor

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  • Neena Singh

    Mayor

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  • Nishita Desai

    School Board (Local)

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  • Nitang Patel

    School Board (Local)

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  • Nuran Nabi

    City Council

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  • Prakash Santhana

    City Council

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  • Pramod Chivate

    School Board (Local)

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  • Rahul Vaghasia

    School Board (Local)

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  • Raj Mehta

    School Board (Local)

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  • Raj Mukherji

    State House

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  • Ravinder Singh Bhalla

    Mayor

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  • Sadaf Jaffer

    State House

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  • Sai Rao

    School Board (Local)

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  • Salim Patel

    City Council

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  • Sam Joshi

    Mayor

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  • Sangeeta Doshi

    City Council

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  • Sanjeev Vinayak

    City Council

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  • Shanti Narra

    County Official (Other)

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  • Sheetal Patel

    School Board (Local)

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  • Shreesh Tiwari

    School Board (Local)

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  • Sivaraman Anbarasan

    City Council

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  • Sonali Ganti

    School Board (Local)

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  • Srinivas Dhulipala

    School Board (Local)

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  • Srinivasa Rajagopal

    School Board (Local)

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  • Sterley Stanley

    State House

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  • Subrata Chowdhury

    School Board (Local)

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  • Teena Patel

    School Board (Local)

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  • Vin Gopal

    State Senate

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  • Virbhadra Patel

    City Council

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