Republican surge drowns Indian Americans in US

While Indian American Republican Nikki Randhawa Haley has made history being elected governor of South Carolina, thus becoming this southern state's first chief executive, Indian American Democrats running for US Congress, including the Top-Tier Red to Blue candidates, who were supported to the hilt by the Democratic establishment, were caught up in the Republican surge and drowned in the tsunami as the GOP took back the House of Representatives.

Dr Manan Trivedi, contesting in Pennsylvania's 6th District and who the Democrats were pinning their hopes on to defeat the Republican incumbent Jim Gerlach, was defeated convincingly by the latter by a 57 to 43 margin, while Rajiv Goyle, running for the open seat in Kansas' 4th District, was also whopped pretty badly by Republican Mike Pompeo. Likewise, Dr Ami Bera, the other Indian American physician in the fray, running in California's 3rd District, was trailing Republican incumbent Dan Lungren by four percent points with 50 percent of the precincts reporting and was not expected to prevail.

All three of these Top Tier candidates had raised over $1 million with a significant amount of this money coming from Indian American donors from around the country who had hoped that they would have at least one Indian American in the US House of Representatives after more than half a century since the election in the 1950s of Democrat Dalip Singh Saund.

The only other Indian American Congressman was Piyush 'Bobby' Jindal, now governor of Louisiana, who served one term and was re-elected for a second term, but left Congress to make a second and this time successful gubernatorial run and win the governorship nearly three years ago.

Another Democrat, Ravi Sangisetty, contesting another open seat in Louisiana's 3rd District againt Republican Jeff Landry, was also thrashed by a margin of 64 to 36 percent.

About two hours after the polls closed, Trivedi, obviously seeing the writing on the wall, gathered with his family, friends, and supporters in West Reading to thank them for their help and support during his 14-month long run.

"Before I say anything else, I have to thank my family, the people who have been with me at every step. My mom and my brother are both here tonight, and my incredible wife Surekha, who I couldn't thank enough. And of course, my baby girl Sonia," he said.

In a virtual concession speech, although not acknowledging defeat since the official results were not out at the time, Trivedi said, "Fourteen months ago, I entered this race for Congress with an immediate

reaction that a brown kid from Berks County and no money in the political coffers didn't stand a chance.

"But we set out and built a campaign with all of you and look at what we were able to overcome and accomplish.  No matter the results this evening, I am so very proud of the race we ran."

Trivedi continued, "We set out with a very clear message: Washington stopped working for us, and the only way we were ever going to change it was by changing who we sent down there. And I firmly believe that that mission still lies ahead for all of us. We may not be headed for Congress, but they sure as heck know our story."

He said, "When so many folks here are struggling, Congress needs to take a pay cut and lead by example.

"When it comes to jobs, we had a vision and set out the only real plan to create them," he added.

Trivedi, who had been hammered by by Gerlack as an Obama-(Nancy) Pelosi (House Speaker) liberal, and criticised for supporting Obama's healthcare plan, argued, "With healthcare, every American deserves to be covered and the way to do that is not by repealing the current law.  We must advance this cause and make access and affordability the utmost priority."

The Iraq War veteran said, "And as a battalion surgeon during the Iraq War, regardless of holding any public office, I will never cease to fight for each and every veteran and their families for the sacrifices they make. We are a greater nation because of their service. These are the issues we focused on and they will continue to be what we fight for every day. Because we must work towards a system that is fair to everyone."

And in an emotional reference to his immigrant father, Trivedi said, "I remember that one man came to this great country all alone. He had no money and knew no one. His brown skin made him stick out in Missouri, still a very segregated part of the country at the time, but he continued to believe in the one thing that kept driving him forward -- the American Dream. 

"I've thought about my father's American Dream a lot during the course of this campaign.  When I look at the faces of each and every good person that I met at the train stations, the diners, the churches, the coffee shops and in so many of your homes," he said. "And the one unifying impression that has been left upon is that we are all the same. From the steelworker to the social worker, from the small businessman with new start-up to the small child starting school, from the white, the black, the brown and all shades in between, we're all Americans who wish nothing more than to be given a chance to reach our potential."