Indian american woman set for historic election to us senate
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is set to become the first Indian American elected to the US Senate in next week’s election, having built up a commanding lead over her rival, according to polls. Indian Americans also appear to be heading for a breakthrough in the House of Representatives, where more of them are expected to join the sole Indian American, Ami Bera from California. At least two candidates for the House, Pramila Jayapal of Washington State, and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, have near-certain chances of winning, while Bera has shown a strong lead in the primary and that could see him re-elected. Another candidate, Ro Khanna, who is running to represent the Silicon Valley, is reported to have a slim lead over the veteran incumbent Mike Honda. All these candidates are Democrats and since the election of Republican Bobby Jindal to the House in 2004, no viable Indian American candidate for Congress has emerged in that party, although Nikki Haley, the current governor of South Carolina, belongs to it. Mary Thomas, who sought a Republican Party ticket from Florida, was defeated in the party primary. Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, 35, is the only Hindu ever elected to Congress although she is a not of Indian descent, and she appears set for re-election. Strengthening her chances, the Hawaii state Republican Party leaders have withdrawn support to their own candidate, Angela Kaaihue, who is challenging Gabbard because she made anti-Hindu statements and called Gabbard a “pathetic Hindu 1,000 gods leader”. Kamala Harris leads her rival, Loretta Sanchez, by between 17 and 20 percentage points according to different polls released earlier this week. Senators are elected by the entire electorate in their states and 52-year-old Harris has already won two state-wide elections for Attorney General in 2010 and 2014, and this adds to her edge in the upcoming Senate race. Harris has a dual identity: She is also counted as an African American as her father is a Jamaican of African descent and she follows the Baptist faith. She would become the second American woman of African descent elected to the Senate and join the two other African Americans there. She derives her equal claim to Indian heritage from her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer specialist from Chennai.