Washington, Oct 11: Indian-American candidates are chasing a string of firsts in the November 3 elections, from Nithya Raman’s bid to unseat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to a possible first Hindu in the Texas Legislature, after a poll published on Friday put Raman ahead in the mayoral race.
The Manhattan Institute poll of likely voters had Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member, at 38 per cent and Bass at 32 per cent, according to Political Wire. The margin of error was 4.6 points.
Raman would be the city’s first Indian-American mayor. The race is nonpartisan.
In the June 2 primary, Bass won 34.3 per cent and Raman 29.0 per cent.
“I’m running for mayor because I don’t want to ignore any part of this city,” Raman said at a mayoral forum on September 29.
“We need to build more housing in Los Angeles, but we need to build it across every single neighborhood,” she added.
The two candidates are scheduled to meet for their final debate on Tuesday.
In Austin, Democrat Pooja Sethi is running for the open Texas House District 47 seat against Republican Jennifer Mushtaler after winning her primary with about 76 per cent of the vote.
Sethi, an immigration lawyer and chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, would be the first Indian American and the first Hindu in the Texas Legislature.
She drew attention earlier this year when she replied on X to Turning Point commentator Savanah Hernandez.
“My heritage isn’t an insult. It’s my story. And like millions of Americans, it’s rooted in hard work, faith in this country, and service to our community. If that bothers you, that says more about you than it does about me,” Sethi wrote. In Georgia, Democrat Jyot Singh is running for House District 97 in Gwinnett County against Republican Yassin Moghazy after winning the May 19 primary with 59.1 per cent.
Singh, a Yale graduate endorsed by Congressman Ro Khanna, would be Georgia’s first Sikh elected official, according to his campaign and community media coverage. In New York, Republican Saritha Komatireddy is challenging Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. She is the first South Asian major-party nominee for statewide office in New York.
Komatireddy, born in Brooklyn to parents who came from India in the 1980s, is a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a former federal terrorism prosecutor. President Donald Trump endorsed her in August.
“You can work hard, dream big, and have a shot at achieving those dreams,” she told NY1. (IANS)