On June 8, at least three Indian Americans will contest races across the nation in their bid to seek high-profile positions in government. All three seem to be in a relatively good, even if somewhat challenging, situations.
The most challenging race appears to be the Republican primary for governor in South Carolina. State Rep. Nikki Randhawa Haley, a Republican, is riding high after having been endorsed by top GOP leaders former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But Haley is also facing a sex scandal, with a former aide claiming he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with her. As Haley topped the polls in a field of four, another scandal broke out with a Republican state senator accused of using a racial slur against her.
In contrast, in California, Dr. Ami Bera, who is running for the U.S. Congress from District 3, is already the Democratic Party favorite. He has no opponent and is targeting his Republican opponent and longtime incumbent Dan Lungren (R-Calif.). Bera and his friends will have a "Primary Watch Party" anyway at a restaurant with grassroots volunteers and supporters.
"On June, 8th, I will proudly accept the democratic nomination to represent California's 3rd Congressional District," Bera told News India Times via e-mail. "I've spent the last year travelling around the region, listening to the stories of teachers, workers and small-business owners and their message is simple – 'We have real problems, we deserve real solutions.'"
Bera was born and raised in California. "The America I grew up in was an America full of opportunity, where if you worked hard you could succeed. Like many Americans, these opportunities are the reason my parents emigrated here over 50 years ago," he said, adding he wants to offer those opportunities to future generations.
California has another riveting Democratic primary – for state attorney general. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is among six Democrats vying for their party's nomination.
The futures of Republican Haley and Democrat Harris are in limbo, though better than that of other candidates in their races.
Haley, even though at the top of the polls, is in a four-way race that might mean a runoff two weeks after June 8 if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote.
But the more scandals her opponents throw out there, the more popular she seems to become. The "scandals" emerged in quick succession after the Indian American was endorsed by Palin, sending her poll numbers skyrocketing ahead of others. She heads into the June 8 primary with a double-digit lead over her three rivals, L. Gov. Andre Bauer, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and State Attorney General Henry McMaster of Columbia.
First came allegations by Will Folks, a former aide, who said he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with the gubernatorial candidate some years ago. Haley, after taking the high road saying she did not want to divert from her campaign, dealt with the rumors and innuendos and appears to have come out of it unscathed with help from Palin, who came out swinging in her support.
Through it all, Haley is making controlled appearances but aggressively defending her reputation. She launched a television ad on June 2, featuring her husband and children. "I've seen the dark side of our state's politics, and I know the bright side of our state's people," she says. "I have a vision of what South Carolina can be." Her husband, Michael, also said publicly that allegations of impropriety were "absolutely false," media reported.
No sooner did she respond to Folks she faced another allegation, this time from Bauer's camp, where his political consultant resigned saying he had a one-night stand with Haley back in 2008. Larry Marchant told The Charlotte Observer he quit because he did not want to do anything to jeopardize the Bauer campaign.
"This is a false and outrageous desperate attack from a losing candidate's paid campaign consultant in the final week of the race," Haley campaign manager Tim Pearson said in a statement. "As Nikki Haley rises in the polls, the good old boys in Columbia see their taxpayer-funded fraternity party waning, crumbling down and they will say or do anything to hold onto their power."
Haley has denied all allegations and the timing of the rumors have led to skepticism among South Carolina's voters.
Then, another scandal broke out, with state Sen. Jake Knotts reportedly referring to Haley as a "raghead."
The comment was apparently made during an interview with PubPolitics, a weekly webcast from a local bar.
According to news reports, Knotts, who is a supporter of Bauer, said, "We already got one raghead in the White House, we don't need a raghead in the governor's mansion."
Knotts apologized for the "unintended slur" saying, "Unfortunately, the show was not recorded as was intended. If it had been recorded, the public would be able to hear firsthand that my 'raghead' comments were intended in jest." The Haley campaign has criticized Knotts, saying he "represents all that is wrong with South Carolina politics."
Meanwhile, Harris is facing allegations about improprieties in her office. Leading the field, she has been endorsed by the likes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and a host of other high-profile politicos as well as some news outlets, including the San Jose Mercury News.
Her main Democratic opponent in the primary is Chris Kelly, an attorney and former chief privacy officer of Facebook.
Over the last few weeks, Harris has been countering attacks following revelations about a former drug lab technician Deborah Madden, who was suspected of allegedly siphoning off cocaine from the lab. At least 700 cases where she testified have had to be dismissed.
The latest development is city public defender Jeff Adachi's accusations, reported June 3, that Harris is refusing to turn over to defense lawyers the names of police officers with records of misconduct whose testimonies have sent some people to jail.
Harris has contended all along that there is no policy in place for divulging such information and that she is bound by the privacy policies of the force. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in May that dozens of police officers had a history of misconduct and Harris has contended there is no disclosure policy in place for such instances.
Through all this, Bera is coasting with the Democratic Party solidly behind him as it sees a chance to turn a red seat into blue.
Bera is said to have collected way more [funds] than Lungren, and most of it from small donors. Lungren has been in office from 1979-89 and was re-elected in 2005.
An April report in The Record newspaper says only one other challenger in the state, Republican Dana Walsh, running against Pelosi, has raised more than the $1.2 million Bera has raised.
The 3rd Congressional District is Republican leaning in terms of voter registration, reports say, but Democrats have made gains in recent years bringing the two parties neck-and-neck. The district includes parts of Sacramento and Solano counties, plus all of Alpine, Amador and Calaveras counties.
Bera has made the rounds of the country and got the support of Indian Americans in his state and elsewhere. Indians are reported to have contributed around half of his 2009 campaign contributions. In the first three months of this year, Bera's campaign says, it has raised mostly local, small funding.
The Sacramento Press reported that from 2009-10 Bera's campaign raised $1,257,000 versus Lungren's $953,000, and that nearly all of Bera's funding (92 percent) came from individuals, rather than political action committees (PACs).
By contrast, Lungren has raised about half (49 percent) of his funds from PACs and half from individuals (50 percent), the report said. It added that in the first quarter of 2010, Bera's campaign raised $384,500 from 729 donors – nearly 500 giving less than $200 each – with more than three out of every five such donors from within District 3, and more than four of five in California.
In contrast, Lungren raised $220,000 from 306 donors – about $719 from the average donor, it pointed out. In March this year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee selected Bera along with 12 others, including Kansas State Rep. Raj Goyle, as its top priorities in turning red states blue. It makes Bera eligible to receive funding from the party after the primaries.
