Record dozen Indian Americans in race for US Congress

Even as US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris is the cynosure of all eyes in India because of her Indian origin, what is another matter of interest to observers is that a record number of 12 Indian Americans are running for the elections to the US Congress this year. While 10 of them are running for the House of Representatives, two are in the race for the upper house of the Congress, the Senate, writes senior journalist Aroonim Bhuyan.

New Delhi: Even as US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris is the cynosure of all eyes in India because of her Indian origin – her mother Shyamala Gopalan was born in Chennai – what is another matter of interest to observers is that a record number of 12 Indian Americans are running for the elections to the US Congress this year.

While 10 of them are running for the House of Representatives, two are in the race for the upper house of the Congress, the Senate.

Among the prospects for the Senate candidates, those of Sara Gideon are being followed with keen interest by the observers of the US elections this year given her Indian origin.

Gideon, who was born to an Indian immigrant father and a second-generation Armenian mother, is the Democratic candidate for the US Senate from the state of Maine. She currently serves as the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives.

If elected, she will become only the second senator of Indian origin following Kamala Harris who currently represents California. If Biden wins the presidential election, Harris will have to relinquish her Senate seat to assume charge as the vice president.

According to observers, Gideon is being seen as a strong challenger to the incumbent Maine Senator, Republican Susan Colljns.

Gideon’s candidature has also been strongly endorsed by former President Barack Obama.

According to one observer, Collins has been on a “weak wicket” in Maine for quite some time now.

“Collins is not a typical Republican and a middle of the ground candidate,” one such observer told. “Voters in Maine are usually liberal and moderate.”

According to reports, Gideon has put the interests of working-class families in Maine on her priority list and enjoys the support of most labour unions in the northeastern US state.

The other candidate of Indian origin who is in the race for the Senate is Republican Rik Mehta of New Jersey but his chances are seen as slim.

“Rik’s prospects are not bright as New Jersey has always been a Democrat state,” the observer, who made the comments on Gideon’s prospects, said.

Apart from the two candidates for the Senate, there are at last 10 candidates of Indian origin who are in the race for the House of Representatives.

Four of them are up for re-election – Democrats Raja Krishnamoorthy (Illinois), Ami Bera (California), Pramila Jayapal (Washington) and Ro Khanna (California).

The others in the fray are Republicans Ritesh Tandon (opposing Khanna in California), Nisha Sharma (California) and Manga Anantatmula (Virginia), and Democrats Sri Kulkarni (Texas), Dr. Hirel Tipirrneni (Arizona) and Rishi Kumar (California).

The Indian American diaspora is over four million strong and their votes are being keenly sought by both Biden and incumbent President and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

The votes of Indian Americans are expected to play a key role in the outcome of the November 3 US presidential election.

According to observers, the Indian American votes will be extremely crucial in key swing states where Trump had won only won by margins of 10,000 to 40,000 in the 2016 presidential election.

Opinion polls paint a bright picture for Biden, with Trump coming under immense criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy and environmental issues.

The latest Financial Times poll tracker based on data from Real Clear Politics shows that Democrat candidate Biden can win 272 electoral college votes out of 538 while Trump can manage only 125. The winning candidate needs to win 270 of the 538 votes.