Raja Krishnamoorthi Bio
Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi (born July 19, 1973) is an Indian-born American attorney and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Illinois’s 8th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where he has chaired subcommittees focused on economic and consumer policy. He is the first Indian American, and the first person of South Asian descent, to serve as a ranking member or chair of any full committee in the United States Congress. In May 2025, Krishnamoorthi announced a campaign for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin in 2026.
Early Life and Background
Raja Krishnamoorthi was born in 1973 into a Tamil Hindu family in New Delhi, India. When he was three months old, his family moved to Buffalo, New York, so that his father could attend graduate school. After a stretch of early economic hardship that included time in public housing and reliance on food assistance, the family settled in Peoria, Illinois, in 1980, where his father joined the faculty at Bradley University and the family enjoyed a middle-class upbringing.
Krishnamoorthi attended public schools in Peoria and graduated as valedictorian of his class at Richwoods High School. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering summa cum laude from Princeton University. He then received a Juris Doctor with honors from Harvard Law School, where he served as managing editor of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review and published a law review article on Local School Councils in Chicago public elementary schools.
Path to US Politics
After law school, Krishnamoorthi clerked for federal judge Joan B. Gottschall in the Northern District of Illinois and cut his teeth in Democratic politics by working on Barack Obama’s 2000 campaign for the United States House of Representatives. He later served as an issues director for Obama’s 2004 United States Senate campaign and contributed to the development of Obama’s keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
He was appointed to the Board of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, practiced law, and then served as a special assistant attorney general under Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, helping to start the state’s anti-corruption unit. He went on to serve as deputy state treasurer of Illinois under Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias from 2007 to 2009 and as vice-chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council, while also leading high-tech small businesses in the Chicago area before resigning those roles to enter Congress.
Raja Krishnamoorthi Career
Early Career (2010-2012)
Raja Krishnamoorthi first sought statewide office in 2010, when he ran for the Democratic nomination for Illinois comptroller. He narrowly lost the primary to state representative David E. Miller by less than 1% of the vote. The race positioned him as a reform-minded Democrat focused on accountability and government efficiency.
In 2012, Krishnamoorthi campaigned for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Illinois’s 8th congressional district. He finished second to Tammy Duckworth with 33.8% of the vote, gaining valuable experience and a foothold in the district he would later represent.
US House Breakthrough (2016-2018)
When Tammy Duckworth launched a U.S. Senate campaign in 2016, Raja Krishnamoorthi declared his candidacy for the open 8th congressional district seat. He won the March 2016 Democratic primary with 57% of the vote, defeating state senator Michael Noland and Deb Bullwinkel, before going on to defeat Republican DuPage County Board member Pete DiCianni in the November general election with 58.1% of the vote. He was sworn into office on January 3, 2017, and quickly established himself on oversight and national security issues.
During his first term, Krishnamoorthi co-led the bipartisan Thompson–Krishnamoorthi Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which the House passed unanimously in June 2017. After he and Representative Glenn Thompson rallied 235 House members in support, the Senate passed the bill, and President Donald Trump signed it into law in July 2018. In 2018, he ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and won the general election with more than 66% of the vote.
Committee Leadership Era (2019-Present)
As chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Raja Krishnamoorthi launched high-profile investigations into the vaping industry, the federal pandemic response, the Washington Commanders’ workplace culture, and child safety standards for car seats and boosters. His vaping hearings drew national attention and helped spur a Food and Drug Administration warning letter to Juul Labs, prompting the company to halt most of its domestic advertising. He also led probes into the Trump administration’s use of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds for partisan messaging and into the Sackler family’s role in the opioid crisis.
As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Krishnamoorthi participated in the impeachment proceedings against President Trump and has pushed legislation addressing artificial intelligence, semiconductor export controls, and restrictions on Chinese- and Russian-owned social networks. He has championed animal welfare measures, federal funding for mental health response units in his district, and a record of voting with President Joe Biden 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. His committee portfolio has also included oversight of children’s car seat safety standards and investigations into Senator David Perdue’s stock trades.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Raja Krishnamoorthi’s signature achievements are the enactment of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, his designation as a leading congressional voice on TikTok and Chinese technology policy through the ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act, and his role as the first Indian American to chair a full committee in U.S. Congress. Time magazine once called him the vaping industry’s “biggest enemy in D.C.,” reflecting the impact of his subcommittee’s work on consumer protection and public health.
Raja Krishnamoorthi Career Wins
Raja Krishnamoorthi has compiled a strong record of electoral wins in Illinois’s 8th congressional district, combining decisive primary victories with comfortable general-election margins. His campaigns have emphasized middle-class economic opportunity, oversight, and national security.
US House Highlights
Krishnamoorthi captured the 8th district seat in 2016 with 58.1% of the vote and never faced a serious challenge in a general election afterward. He won more than 66% in 2018, drew 73% in 2020 against Libertarian Preston Nelson, was reelected in 2022 by a 14-point margin, and in 2024 won unopposed in the Democratic primary before securing just over 57% of the general-election vote against Republican Mark Rice. In May 2025, he launched a 2026 U.S. Senate campaign for the seat held by Dick Durbin, reporting $24 million raised by December 2025.
Other Wins & Achievements
Krishnamoorthi has earned bipartisan recognition for legislative accomplishments, including the enactment of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in 2018. In 2025, the Humane Action Fund gave him a “100+” rating and designated him a “leader” for his support of animal welfare legislation. He also holds a 100% voting alignment with President Joe Biden’s stated positions in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.
Raja Krishnamoorthi Family
Family Background and Public Service Lineage
Raja Krishnamoorthi was raised in a Tamil Hindu family shaped by education and public service. His father became a professor at Bradley University after the family settled in Peoria, Illinois, an experience that grounded Krishnamoorthi’s interest in policy, working families, and civic engagement.
Personal Life
Raja Krishnamoorthi is a practicing Hindu. He is married to Priya Krishnamoorthi, a doctor, and the couple lives in Schaumburg, Illinois, with their three children. In January 2017, he and his elder son attended the Chicago Cubs’ White House celebration of the team’s World Series victory, a moment the lifelong Cubs fan later described as memorable.