Pramila Jayapal becomes first Indian-American woman to be elected to U.S. House

Pramila Jayapal on 9 November 2016 became the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representative. She won the Senate seat from state of Washington.

Jayapal received 57 per cent of the votes from Washington State, leaving behind her rival Brady Walkinshaw who secured 43 per cent votes.

About Pramila Jayapal

• Pramila Jayapal is a Democratic politician from the state of Washington.

• She has represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate since 2015.

• Prior to being elected to the U.S. House of Representative, she was a Seattle-based civil rights activist, serving until 2012 as the executive director of OneAmerica, a pro-immigration advocacy group.

• She obtained her bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, and an MBA from Northwestern University.

• She is the author of Pilgrimage: One Woman's Return to a Changing India, published in March 2000.