Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi ( RAH-jə KRISH-nə-MOORTH-ee; born July 19, 1973) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district since 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Born in New Delhi, India, and raised in Peoria, Illinois, Krishnamoorthi served as a special assistant attorney general before he was first elected to the House in 2016. He is the first Indian American or person of South Asian descent to serve as a ranking member or chair of any full committee in the U.S. Congress. He also served as an assistant whip. He ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2026 United States Senate election in Illinois, but lost to Juliana Stratton.
Contents
Early life and education
Krishnamoorthi was born in 1973 into a Tamil Hindu family in New Delhi, India. His family moved to Buffalo, New York, when he was three months old so that his father could attend graduate school. Early economic hardships necessitated the family living in public housing and using food assistance for a time. In 1980, the Krishnamoorthis moved to Peoria, Illinois, where his father became a professor at Bradley University, and the family enjoyed a middle-class upbringing. Krishnamoorthi attended public schools in Peoria, and was a valedictorian of his graduating class at Richwoods High School.
Krishnamoorthi attended Princeton University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering summa cum laude. He then received a Juris Doctor with honors from Harvard Law School. During law school, Krishnamoorthi was managing editor of the Harvard Civil Rights–Civil Liberties Law Review, and published a law review article on the implementation of Local School Councils in Chicago public elementary schools.
Early career
After graduating from Harvard, Krishnamoorthi served as a law clerk for federal judge Joan B. Gottschall in the Northern District of Illinois and then worked on Barack Obama's 2000 election campaign for the United States House of Representatives. He also served as an issues director for Obama's 2004 campaign for the United States Senate and aided in the development of Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address.
After being appointed to the Board of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Krishnamoorthi practiced law and then served as a special assistant attorney general, helping start the state's anti-corruption unit under Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. He served as deputy state treasurer for Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias from 2007 to 2009 and then as vice-chairman of the Illinois Innovation Council. He was the president of high-tech small businesses in the Chicago area until he resigned before entering Congress to eliminate any conflicts of interest.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 2010, Krishnamoorthi ran for the Democratic Party nomination for Illinois comptroller. He lost the primary election to state representative David E. Miller by less than 1% of the vote. In 2012 he ran for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Illinois's 8th congressional district, and lost to Tammy Duckworth with 33.8% of the vote.
In 2016, Duckworth ran for the U.S. Senate, leaving her Congressional seat open. Krishnamoorthi then declared his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives seat she was vacating, the same one he had run for four years prior. He won the March 2016 primary election with 57% of the vote, to state senator Michael Noland's 29% and Deb Bullwinkel's 13%. Krishnamoorthi defeated Republican DuPage County County board member Pete DiCianni in the November general election, capturing 58.1% of the vote after a campaign in which he vowed to fight for middle-class families in Congress.
Krishnamoorthi was unopposed for the 2018 Democratic nomination, and won the general election with more than 66% of the vote.
Krishnamoorthi received 80% of the vote in the 2020 Democratic primary, and defeated Libertarian candidate Preston Nelson in the general election, 73% to 26%.
Krishnamoorthi won the 2022 Democratic nomination with 71% of the vote. Krishnamoorthi was reelected to a fourth term, defeating the Republican nominee by a 14-point margin.
In 2024, Krishnamoorthi was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and garnered a 14-point victory in the general election, defeating his Republican opponent, businessman Mark Rice.
Tenure
Krishnamoorthi was sworn into office on January 3, 2017.
While Krishnamoorthi attended President Donald Trump's January 2017 inauguration, he said he did so in part "because I want President Trump to look at the crowd and Congress and see on day one that he will be strongly opposed if he continues to pursue policies that hurt working families." The day before the inauguration, he was included in a list featured in The Guardian of "up-and-coming leaders of the Trump resistance in Washington."
Krishnamoorthi voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.
In June 2022, Krishnamoorthi joined local officials to present the Schaumburg Police Department with a check for $340,000 in recognition of federal funding he secured for a mobile response unit for mental health and substance misuse. This unit, implemented by the Schaumburg Police Department, Elk Grove Police Department, the Start Here Addiction Rehabilitation and Education Program, the Foglia Treatment Center, the Kenneth Young Center, and Live4Lali, allows the police to address 911 calls through crisis intervention overseen by social workers and community response professionals with experience related to mental health and substance disorders.
In June 2017, the House unanimously passed the Thompson–Krishnamoorthi Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which would overhaul the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and provide more flexibility to states. In November 2017, Krishnamoorthi and GT Thompson co-led a letter to the Senate education committee with 235 fellow members of the House urging them to take up the legislation. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act passed the Senate and was signed into law by President Trump in July 2018.
In December 2022, Krishnamoorthi and two other lawmakers introduced the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act), which would prohibit Chinese- and Russian-owned social networks from doing business in the United States. He later said that the TikTok algorithm was manipulated by the Chinese government. He also expressed concern about the alleged surveillance of journalists, possible manipulation of the algorithm in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, and the fact that Osama bin Laden's 'Letter to America' had gone viral. He said that he wanted the platform sold, not banned.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services (Ranking Member)
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Subcommittee on Central Intelligence Agency
Subcommittee on Open Source Intelligence
Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (Ranking Member)
2026 U.S. Senate campaign
On May 7, 2025, Krishnamoorthi announced that he would run for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Dick Durbin in the 2026 election. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and his allies allegedly discouraged Krishnamoorthi to run, though he denied the claims.
Though Krishnamoorthi led in early polls and raised over $30 million, he ultimately lost to Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in the Democratic primary.
Personal life
Krishnamoorthi is a practicing Hindu and is married to Priya, who is a doctor. They live in Schaumburg, Illinois, with their three children.
In January 2017, Krishnamoorthi, a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, and his elder son attended the Cubs' official White House commemoration of their World Series victory.
Publications
Articles
As China backslides on women’s rights, the U.S. can step up, The Washington Post, July 1, 2024 (co-authored with Kathy Castor)
The Chinese Communist Party wants to decide our elections for us. We can't allow it. The Hill, May 23, 2024
Xi Jinping Has Tough Economic Choices Ahead, Foreign Policy, April 26, 2024
Congress should block US investment in China's military and human rights abuses, The Hill, February 8, 2024
Does Competing with the Chinese Communist Party Mean 'Kicking It When It's Down?' The Diplomat, December 29, 2023