4 Nov : Indian-American Nikki Haley created history Wednesday by becoming the first woman governor of South Carolina, with her Republican party trouncing the Democratic party of US President Barack Obama in the nationwide mid-term elections.
Born of Sikh parents who migrated from Punjab, Haley created history by becoming the first woman to occupy the governor’s mansion of South Carolina.
She is only the second India-American to be a Governor of a US State after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana; and also the first Indian-American woman governor.
According to the unofficial results Haley got 52 per cent as against her Democratic rival Vincent Sheehan who polled 46 per cent.The much expected victory did not come before giving some anxious moment to Haley and her campaign.
For some portion of the counting of votes, Haley was trailing behind, and then was running neck to neck with Sheehan before she took handsome lead. However, the news so far is not good for the rest of the other major Indian-American candidates running for the US House of Representatives, as all of them were trailing behind when reports last came in.
A record number of six Indian Americans were in the fray. Five of them are Democrats Manan Trivedi from Pennsylvania, Ami Bera from California, Raj Goyle from Kansas, Ravi Sangisetty from Louisiana and Surya Yalamanchili from Ohio.
Ashvin Lad from Illinois is the only Republican Indian American in fray. In Pennsylvania, Trivedi, a Iraq war veteran, was initially ahead of his Republican rival Jim Gerlach but the latter took the lead later on.
While Trivedi had received 58,911 votes, Gerlach had received 76,197 of the total votes counted so far. If elected Trivedi would be only the third Indian American to enter the House of Representatives after Dalip Singh Saund and Bobby Piyush Jindal.
In Kansas, Indian American Raj Goyle, appeared to be defeated by his Republican rival Mike Pompe. In the 4th House District of Kansas, Pompe had received 59 per cent of the total votes counted when reports last came, while Goyle had got just 36 per cent of the total votes counted.
In Louisiana’s Third Congressional District Ravi Sangisetty had almost lost the elections, with his Republican rivals Jeffy Landry taking an inaccessible lead.
In California, Bera was trailing behind with more than half of the votes counted. Bera had received 44 per cent of the total votes polled, while his Republican rival Dan Lungren hag 49 percent of the total votes polled.
Sangisetty, a lawyer by profession, who pitched himself as a “pro-life, pro-gun conservative Democrat” had received just 36 per cent of the total votes counted. Landry had received 64 per cent of the 87 per cent of the total votes counted, when reports last came in.
Same was the case in Ohio with Surya Yalamanchill a former Apprentice contestant was trailing behind Republican Jean Schmidt by more than 79,149 votes.
While Yalamanchill, polled 62,336 votes of the total votes counted, Schmidt has received 134,361 votes when reports last came in.
Republicans are poised to retake control of the House, riding a wave of voter discontent with the direction of the country and the economy as well as unhappiness the White House and congressional Democrats to claim the 39 seats they needed, according to projections by the three cable networks.
Meanwhile the CNN and other news networks projected that Republicans were all set to get the majority in the US House of Representatives. “Republicans rode a wave of voter dissatisfaction with the state of the economy to win majority control of the House of Representatives, while Democrats were poised to retain their majority in the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections,” CNN said.
CNN projected that Republicans would win at least 50 more House seats than they currently hold to wipe out the Democratic majority of the past four years
The power shift means House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, portrayed as somewhat of a political bogeyman by GOP candidates throughout the campaign, will lose her post and likely be succeeded by Minority Leader John Boehner.
Indian-American Kamala Harris wins California AG poll
Endorsed by US President Barack Obama, Indian-American Kamala Harris on Wednesday won the election for Attorney General of California, soon after Indian origin Nikki Haley of Republican Party scripted history by winning the governorship of South Carolina.
Kamala will be the first woman to hold the office of Attorney General in California, elections for which were held on Tuesday.
Daughter of an Indian mother and African-American father, Harris is currently the San Francisco Attorney General.
She would replace Democratic Jerry Brown who won the election for Governor of California on Tuesday.
Harris, who was the only Indian-American candidate to be publicly endorsed by Obama, defeated Steve Cooley of the Republican Party in a tough fight.
“Kamala has done a remarkable job in San Francisco. Now it’s time to send her to Sacramento so she can get those same results for all Californians — but she needs our help if she’s going to win this race,” Obama had said in his endorsement message last month.
The US President had also attended a fund raiser for Harris in California last month.
In key mid-term polls in which President Obama’s Democrats were routed, 38-year-old-Haley, born of Sikh parents who migrated from Punjab, became only the second Indian- American to be a Governor of a US State after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana; and also the first Indian-origin woman governor.
Haley received 52 percent of votes as against her Democratic rival Vincent Sheehan who polled 46 percent.
She has served three-terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives where she represented Lexington County and was also the first Indian-American to hold office in that state.
Born and raised in the East Bay, Kamala was elected as the first woman District Attorney in San Francisco’s history in December 2003, and as the first African-American woman and South Asian American woman in California to hold the office. She was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term in November 2007.
Kamala is the daughter of Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, a Tamilian breast cancer specialist who travelled to the United States from Chennai, to pursue her graduate studies at UC Berkeley.
After attending public schools, her strong commitment to justice and public service led her to Howard University, Americas oldest historically Black university, and then to the University of California and Hastings College of the Law.
She is the recipient of numerous awards. Californias largest legal newspaper, The Daily Journal, designated Kamala as one of the top 75 women litigators in California the only elected official to receive that honour as well as one of the top 100 lawyers in the state.
She was recognized as a ‘Woman of Power’ by the National Urban League and received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the National Black Prosecutors Association.
She has been featured on the Oprah Show and in Newsweek as one of “Americas 20 Most Powerful Women.”
She was selected as one of 24 elected leaders from throughout the country to serve as a Rodel Fellow with the Aspen Institute.
Additionally, Kamala was elected to the Board of Directors of the California District Attorneys Association and is a Vice President of the National District Attorneys Association.
Six other Indian-origin candidates failed to enter the House of Representatives in the poll where the Democrats have suffered heavily.
Five of them were Democrats Manan Trivedi from Pennsylvania, Ami Bera from California, Raj Goyle from Kansas, Ravi Sangisetty from Louisiana and Surya Yalamanchili from Ohio. Ashvin Lad from Illinois is the only Republican Indian American in fray.
So far only two Indian-Americans have made it to the House of Representatives Dalip Singh Saund and Bobby Piyush Jindal.
In Pennsylvania, Trivedi, a Iraq war veteran, who was ahead in the initial counting of votes lost to Republican Jim Gerlach.
While Trivedi had received 99,517 votes, Gerlach had received 131,715 of the total votes polled.
Nikki Keep it up , we indians wana see you as a president of US. Good Luck