Of 8 Indian Americans Running For Congress, Predictions For 5 To Be Elected
WASHINGTON, DC (IANS) – There are eight Indian Americans running for the House of Representatives in the midterm elections — four of them sitting Democratic Party members; three Republicans, and a Democrat aspiring to join them in the “Samosa Caucus”.
All four of the so-called “Samosa Caucus” stand a strong chance of being re-elected according to forecasts and a fifth, Democrat Shri Thanedar who is running for the first time is almost certain to join them as India-West had noted in August.
The three Republican aspirants, Ritesh Tanden who is running against fellow Indian American Ro Khanna in CA, Sandeep Srivastava in TX, and Rishi Kumar in CA have been written off in forecasts.
No Indian American is running for the Senate, but there is an “in-law”, a Scottish-Irish American married to an Indian. J.D. Vance, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, is seeking the OH Senate seat that was held by retiring Democrat Rob Portman. RealClear Politics aggregation of polls gives him a 3.3 percent lead over Democrat Tim Ryan in the closely watched tight race. Vance is married to fellow Yale Law School graduate Usha Chilukuri, whom he has credited for turning his life around from his impoverished past in a broken family and making him see possibilities in himself.
FiveThirtyEight, an election data analysis outfit, gives newcomer Thanedar a 99 percent chance of winning against his Republican opponent Martell Bivings in Detroit in MI.
Krishnamoorthi, whose constituency is located around Chicago in Illinois was slightly altered with the addition of some Republican-leaning areas in the redrawing that takes place every ten years, is having some jitters. In an appeal to supporters for funds on November 3 night, he said that a late push by Republicans backed by millions of dollars could “see me lose my seat”. But a poll in his constituency has given him a six percent lead over Republican Chris Dargis and Politico Forecast had him likely winning while FiveThirtyEight gave him a 98 percent chance of victory.
Politico Forecast said the constituencies of the other three sitting Indian Americans were “solidly Democratic”.
In California, FiveThirtyEight gave a 99 percent chance of victory for Khanna over Tanden.
Bera’s odds of winning in CA were 98 percent and Premila Jayapal’s were 99 percent in WA.
Earlier, in the Republican primary elections to select candidates, Abhiram Garapati lost in TX and Hima Kolanagireddy in MI. Shrina Kurani, a Democratic, lost the open primary in CA.