Pia Dandiya faces Republican nominee Casey Askar in the 2026 midterm elections on November 3, as she contests for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. Both are running for an open seat after Democrat Lois Frankel opted to run for the 23rd District. Dandiya won the Democratic primary on August 18 and is focusing on reducing the cost of housing, property insurance, healthcare and childcare. She's also made education an integral part of her campaign. Neither Dandiya nor Askar has held a public office before. If elected, Dandiya would become the first South Asian American to represent Florida in the US Congress.
Pia Dandiya stepped into politics when she started working in Senator Bill Nelson’s Washington office. She later served as a White House Fellow at the Domestic Policy Council and the US Department of Education in 2020-2021. She was also appointed to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s P-20 Council, which focuses on coordination across the state’s education system. In 2025, Dandiya entered the race for Florida’s 21st Congressional District but later shifted to the 22nd District.
Pia Dandiya's early years
Pia Dandiya was born and raised in Palm Beach County, Florida, to Indian immigrant parents who lived in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Her father, Dr. Rohit Dandiya, is a physician while her mother founded a Montessori school. Dandiya earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University and a Master of Education from Boston University through a program associated with Teach for America. During her undergraduate years, she spent summers teaching English to children in New Delhi.
Deep Dive
Who is Pia Dandiya running against in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District?
What are Pia Dandiya’s main campaign priorities?
Would Pia Dandiya make history if elected to Congress?
Dandiya lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with her husband Navneet Alag, who works in the biotechnology sector, and their son Sahib. She has publicly stated that her son is one of the reasons why she decided to run for elections, as she wants to help build a better future for the next generation.
{{/usCountry}}Dandiya lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with her husband Navneet Alag, who works in the biotechnology sector, and their son Sahib. She has publicly stated that her son is one of the reasons why she decided to run for elections, as she wants to help build a better future for the next generation.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Indian American Pia Dandiya’s first reaction after Democratic primary win in Florida; ‘It is my dream…’
Key policies and campaign priorities
Dandiya has made affordability the central issue of her campaign, focusing on South Florida’s housing and property insurance costs. She has suggested converting the vacant office buildings in Palm Beach and Broward counties into housing for young professionals, veterans and older residents. She also referred to people that have to commute long distances just because they cannot afford to live near their workplace, saying “we cannot be continuing in this reality”.
Additionally, healthcare has taken a center stage in her election campaign. She called to protect Medicaid and Medicare and safeguard social security. She continues to advocate the expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Apart from healthcare, Dandiya has pledged to support universal pre-kindergarten, fully funded public schools and better support for teachers.
Her campaign also proposed overturning the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” ruling, which expanded constitutional protections for independent political spending. Her aim is to reduce the influence of wealthy donors and corporations over elected officials and make the government more accountable to ordinary voters.
Dandiya's position on economic policies and immigration
Dandiya has made lowering the cost of living a central part of her campaign, with proposals to create more high paying jobs, along with making housing, childcare and insurance more affordable. She has also pledged to expand job training and apprenticeship opportunities in order to help young people prepare for changes in the labor market. She has actively criticized the Trump administration’s tariffs, arguing that tariffs increase the cost of groceries, household goods and other everyday essentials. If elected, Dandiya has pledged to end “illegal and costly tariffs”.
As a daughter of Indian immigrants herself, she says on her campaign website, “who you are and where you come from should never limit how far you can go”. While referencing her own desire to pursue the “American Dream”, she constantly advocates to “make that American Dream more within reach for others”.
On artificial intelligence and Iran conflict
Dandiya has called for greater regulation of artificial intelligence, raising concerns about its potential ill effects on privacy, physical health and energy costs. In an interview with the Naples Daily News, she said, “the number one thing that keeps me up at night is that we have no AI regulation.” She also acknowledged AI’s potential benefits, including more accessible health screenings and personalized student learning. However, she continues to question whether humans would remain in control as the technology advances or not.
According to a press release by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Dandiya has criticized Askar’s support for tariffs and the Iran war. As the conflict is directly linked to the rising costs for Americans, she has made reducing the cost of living a key part of her campaign.
Also Read | US midterm elections 2026: Democratic Socialists launch campaign calling for Israel arms embargo
Controversies and disputes
In 2026, Dandiya faced criticism over her financial investments in companies linked to data centers. Her opponents questioned why she criticized data center expansion while holding investments that were connected to it. They continued to scrutinize her work at Apple, arguing that her background as a corporate employee didn’t match the image of a former teacher that she claimed to be. However, Dandiya continues to state that her work at Apple involved improving technology in education, healthcare and government services.
She was also subjected to criticism due to her opposition to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In September 2026, the No Going Back political action committee launched a campaign accusing her of opposing tax cuts for middle-class families and supporting higher taxes. Dandiya opposed the legislation and has argued that the government should ask wealthy Americans to pay more taxes in order to fund public services. Her campaign website states that the fairest way to protect these programs is to ask “the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share”. Her opponents argued that this means higher taxes for families.
Net worth and more
According to a report by Florida Politics, Pia Dandiya’s net worth is approximately $12.7 million as of 2026. She reportedly lives in a house worth around $4.5 million in South Florida.
-By Tanisha Sharma