Rik Mehta, the first Indian-American to win GOP primary for Senate from New Jersey
Rik Mehta, an ex-US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official, beaten his closest rival Hirsh Singh, also an Indian-American, in the Republican, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party), primaries held on July 7th, 2020 by a margin of just about 13,743 votes, according to preface results.
Rik Mehta is a biotech industrialist, innovator, healthcare policy expert, and a licensed pharmacist and attorney. Mehta did his Bachelor in Science in Pharmaceuticals from Rutgers University and his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Counting of votes due to mail-in ballots resulted in the wait in announcing the election results.
This is the first time that a New Jersey Senatorial race will have candidates of color nominees from both parties. Senator Booker, an African-American, won the Democratic primary with 89 percent of the votes.
New Jersey, which has one of the premier concentrations of Indian-Americans, is well-thought-out to be a Democratic party stronghold as it has been 48 years now that the State has chosen a Republican as a Senator.
Both the Senate seats in the state are at present held by Democrats: Senator Robert Menendez, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Booker.
