Indian American Democrat Ash Kalra has won re-election to the California State Assembly, securing 72.3 percent of the vote in the midterm elections and defeating Republican challenger Himat Singh Bainiwal in the 25th Assembly District.
Kalra received 49,811 votes against Bainiwal’s 19,080, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s election results. The difference was 30,731 votes, giving the incumbent a 44.6-percentage-point lead.
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The result extends Kalra’s tenure in the California Legislature, where he first entered in 2016. He represents the majority of San Jose, including downtown and communities in southeastern Santa Clara County.
Kalra was born on January 21, 1972, in Toronto, Canada, to Indian immigrant parents. His family has roots in India, with his father, Sathya Pal Kalra, born in Lahore in 1944, before the 1947 Partition of British India. His father and family were displaced during Partition and subsequently settled in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
In an oral history interview conducted in 2023 by the AAPI Perspectives Oral History Project, Kalra discussed his father’s childhood, educational journey and migration to Canada.
His father studied at the University of Lucknow, earning degrees in physics, chemistry and English before receiving a scholarship to pursue doctoral studies in aeronautics at the University of Toronto. Kalra’s mother, Christen, was born in Bengaluru in 1948 and later moved to Canada with the family.
Kalra moved to California with his family in 1978, when he was six years old. He grew up in South San Jose, the same community he represents in the state legislature.
Kalra completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 1993. He subsequently attended Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1996.
After law school, he returned to California and began working as a deputy public defender for Santa Clara County. He spent 11 years representing people facing felony and misdemeanor charges, including clients participating in drug treatment court programs.
He also taught at San Jose State University and Lincoln Law School of San Jose, where he taught courses including Race and the Law.
His legal background later became central to his legislative work on criminal justice reform.
Kalra’s political career began in San Jose, where he served on the City Council for eight years, from 2008 to 2016. He represented District 2 and worked on local issues involving housing, transportation, public safety and environmental protection.
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Before becoming an elected official, he also served on the city’s Human Rights Commission and Planning Commission. In 2016, Kalra contested California’s 27th Assembly District, defeating fellow Democrat Madison Nguyen in the general election. He received 53.21 percent of the vote against Nguyen’s 46.79 percent. The victory made him the first Indian American elected to the California Legislature, according to his official legislative biography.
He subsequently won re-election in 2018 with 76.3 percent of the vote and in 2020 with 72.6 percent, defeating Republican G. Burt Lancaster in both contests.
Following California’s legislative redistricting, Kalra represented the 25th Assembly District beginning in December 2022. He won re-election in 2022 and secured his fifth Assembly term in 2024, defeating Republican Ted Stroll with 68.4 percent of the vote. His November 2026 victory over Bainiwal extends his Assembly tenure to a sixth term.
Kalra has chaired the California Assembly’s Judiciary Committee and served on committees covering housing, labor, natural resources and utilities.
One of his most prominent legislative initiatives was the California Racial Justice Act, signed into law in 2020 as Assembly Bill 2542. The legislation established a legal framework for challenging racial discrimination in criminal convictions and sentencing.
In 2022, he authored AB 256, which expanded the law’s application to people with previous convictions. Healthcare has also been a major part of his legislative agenda. Kalra introduced AB 1400 in 2021 and AB 2200 in 2024, both associated with the CalCare proposal for a statewide single-payer healthcare system. Neither proposal established a statewide single-payer system.
His environmental initiatives include AB 3030, introduced in 2019, which established a framework for California’s goal of conserving 30 percent of its lands and coastal waters by 2030. He also authored legislation addressing plastic waste, migratory bird protections and the phaseout of fluorescent lighting.
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Kalra’s political career spans local government, public defense and nearly a decade in the California Legislature. His election in 2016 marked a milestone for Indian American representation in California state politics.
His family history also connects two major events in South Asian history: the 1947 Partition and the subsequent migration of Indian families to North America.
His father moved from Lucknow to Canada for higher education, while Kalra was born in Toronto and grew up in California. He has described his upbringing in South San Jose and his experiences in a diverse community as important influences on his understanding of racial and socioeconomic issues.
The 2026 result extends the presence of an Indian American legislator in one of the country’s most influential state governments. Kalra’s continued work on criminal justice, healthcare, workers’ rights and environmental policy will remain part of his legislative record as he enters another term.