Though a practicing Hindu and a strict vegetarian, Gabbard is not of Indian origin. Her father Mike Gabbard, who is a state senator, is from American Samoa. Her mother Carol Porter Gabbard, a white American, is a practicing Hindu. Her father is a Catholic.

Gabbard, 31, won the Democratic Party nomination in Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District Sunday with a decisive 55 percent vote in the primary with closest rival former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann getting 34 percent.