A taste of Greece swept through the US in the recent elections as many Greek Americans who ran for seats in Congress and State Assemblies were successful in their campaigns to either be re-elected or elected for the first time.
Gus Bilirakis
Republican US Rep. Gus Bilirakis claimed an easy re-election in Florida’s 12th congressional district encompassing New Port Richey and areas north of Tampa.
Raised in Tarpon Springs, the Florida native has been elected in the House of Representatives for the 8th consecutive time. He was first elected in 2006, taking over from his father Michael Bilirakis, who retired from the same role after serving for 24 years.
Mr Bilirakis has been a member of Congress, serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee and as Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
As the grandson of Greek immigrants from Laconia in the Peloponnese, Mr Bilirakis has opposed the Turkish occupation of Cyprus and has supported the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.
Nicole Malliotakis
Greek American Nicole Malliotakis, endorsed by US President Donald Trump, is the winner of New York’s 11th congressional district which includes Staten Island and part of South Brooklyn. She was successful against Max Rose by a comfortable margin. She says she is proud of her heritage and is also a law-abiding New Yorker who works hard and pays her taxes.
Her father is from Greece and mother is from Cuba, and she was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith. She became the first Hispanic American to win elected office in Staten Island and one of the first two Greek-American women elected to office in New York State.
John Sarbanes
Democrat John Sarbanes won Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, beating his Republican opponent Charles Antony. Born in Baltimore, he is the son of former Maryland senator Paul Sarbanes, and he entered office in January 2007. He currently serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce as well as the House Subcommittee on Health, the House Subcommittee on Energy and the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Last month, he joined Reps. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Rob Woodall (R-Ga,) to reintroduce a House Resolution to designate October 28 as “Oxi Day,” in recognition of the Greek people’s inspiring and resolute defiance of invading Axis forces in World War II.
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Chris Pappas
Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas won a second term in Congress, beating Republican challenger Matt Mowers for New Hampshire’s 1st District seat by a 6 point margin. Born in Manchester, he followed the 103-year-old family tradition of joining the restaurant trade and being part of Pappas Restaurants which have more than 100 restaurants in seven states. He is president of Pappas Restaurants, created by his great grandfather.
When elected in 2018, he became the first openly gay person representing New Hampshire.
Dina Titus
Democratic Republican Dina Titus, the dean of Nevada’s congressional delegation, was elected for a fifth term beating Republican Joyce Bentley in the 1st District.
Titus was born in Thomasville, Georgia. Her mother is of Greek descent, and she was raised Greek Orthodox. She grew up in Tifton, Georgia. Her first exposure to politics came at an early age, when her father, Joe Titus, ran for the Tifton City Council.
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Charlie Crist
Democrat Charlie Crist, of Greek Cypriot descent, won the race at Florida’s 13th district with 215,000 votes against Republican Anna Luna’s 190,000 votes.
Re-elected for the third time, he is one of the most recognisable political figures in Florida. In Congress and an advocate for civil issues and veterans, he entered the Florida State Senate in 1992.
He is the son of physician Joseph Crist of Greek Cypriot and Lebanese descent, and Nancy (née Lee), of Scots-Irish, Swiss, and Welsh descent. His family name is adapted from the original Greek name “Christodoulou”.
Michael Gianaris
State Senator Michael Gianaris has officially returned to his seat in Albany representing Western Queens after running unopposed and getting an automatic win.
The son of Nicholas and Magdalena, he was born and raised in Astoria where he still lives and represents New York’s 12th State Senate district, which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and parts of Woodside, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Woodhaven. As a first-generation American, he works with community groups to reunite families separated at the border and he wrote legislation barring discrimination based on immigration status.
James Skoufis
Born in Flushing, Queens, in 1987, James Skoufis was elected into the NY State Assembly in 2012 becoming its youngest member at the age of 25. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2016.
He represents the 39th district.
Michael Tannousis
Republican candidate Michael Tannousis beat Democratic candidate Brandon Patterson in the race for the Staten Island East Shore Assembly seat.
The son of immigrants from Cyprus, he was assistant district attorney in the Bronx until he was hired as a Richmond County assistant DA in 2016 by Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon.
OTHER WINNERS
Senator Leonidas Raptakis, a Democrat representing the 33rd District, won an unopposed race for the Rhode Island State Senate. He has been representing the district since 2013, whereas Republican Steven Xiarhos was successful over Democrat James Dever in the 5th Barnstable District of the Massachusetts State Legislature.