Indian American Aruna Miller, a former Maryland House delegate and her running mate Wes Moore have been named winners of the Democratic Gubernatorial Primary on Saturday. Miller and Moore won against Tom Perez and his running mate Shannon Sneed.
Moore and Miller will face Republican candidate Dan Cox — who was endorsed by Donald Trump — and his running mate Gordana Schifanelli in the November election.
Perez and Sneed have more than 9,000 more mail-in and provisional votes than Moore and Miller but the deficit in early voting and Election Day votes was too much to overcome.
Hyderabad-born Aruna’s family immigrated to the United States from India when she was 7. She graduated from the Missouri University of Science and Technology with a degree in civil engineering and chose a life of public service in Maryland, spending 25 years working at the local Department of Transportation in Montgomery County to improve the safety of the public and alleviate traffic, and creating equitable transportation access to connect people to opportunities.
From 2010 to 2018, she represented District 15 in the Maryland House of Delegates, where she worked with her constituents to create legislation to invest in STEM education, streamline the regulatory process for small businesses and was a champion for working families, survivors of domestic abuse, and the environment.
She ran for Congress in 2018 in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, finishing second in a crowded field of eight candidates.
She lives in Montgomery County with her husband Dave, where they raised three daughters.
