All going according to broad poll predictions, the United States may well be on course to have its first Indian-American Senator, namely California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Harris is the daughter of an Indian-American mother, Dr Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a breast cancer specialist who immigrated from Chennai in 1960, and a Jamaican-American father, Donald Harris, a Stanford University economics professor. Kamala’s parents divorced when she was a small girl, and her mother raised her and her sister, Maya.
The 51-year-old Harris faces loretta Sanchez, a fellow-Democrat Congresswoman, for the California Senate seat to replace retiring Senator Barbara Boxer. Although some recent polls have pointed to a gradually tightening race, Harris is seen to hold a substantial lead.
A poll from The Field/Institute for Governmental Studies, released a fortnight ago, found Harris leading Sanchez 42 per cent to 20 per cent. But another poll, released the very next day by the Public Institute of California, gave Harris a smaller lead of 32 per cent to 25 per cent.
Apart from the Senate race involving Harris, five Indian-Americans are contesting for the House of Representatives, including sitting member Ami Bera from California.
The new aspirants include Pramila Jayapal, 51, from the Washington State. A supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders in his failed bid for the Democratic nomination, Jayapal is being regarded as a clear winner in the heavily Democratic State.
Besides Bera, California will witness a key contest from Silicon Valley with Democrat Ro Khanna challenging sitting Democrat Mike Honda. Khanna had failed to unseat Honda in 2014 that turned out to be a close race with Honda winning by a little over 2,000 votes.