Congressional hopefuls Upendra Chivukula, Swati Dandekar lose.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Primary elections in California, New Jersey, and Iowa proved to be hit-and-miss for Indian American candidates on Tuesday, with a few emerging victorious and others sent packing their bags after their grueling primary seasons came to an end.
The three candidates who advanced to the November general elections all come from California: Republican gubernatorial hopeful Neel Kashkari, Democratic Congressional candidate Ro Khanna, and State Assembly contender Dr. Harinder Grewal.
The losing candidates were: Swati Dandekar, who ran in a five-way Democratic primary for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District; Upendra Chivukula, a Democrat bidding to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District; and Vanila Mathur Singh, a Republican who was competing against Khanna for one of the top two spots in California’s 17th Congressional District primary.
Kashkari ran against fellow Republican Tim Donnelly, in a race that almost immediately proved to be contentious. Both men represent two different factions within the GOP: while Donnelly was the more hardline conservative, Kashkari established himself as a moderate who actually preferred liberal social policies.
Ultimately, that proved to be Donnelly’s undoing, as Kashkari appealed to voters who are sick of politicians hugging tight to party lines rather than reaching across the aisle and compromising. In his recent television ad, Kashkari proudly claimed that he’s not a politician, and therefore knows what really matters to Joe Everyman.
California voters responded by awarding Kashkari 19% of the total votes. Donnelly ended up with only 14.8% of total votes cast for Governor, officially taking him out of the race. Donnelly conceded to Kashkari late last night, and reportedly congratulated him over the phone.
RELATED STORY: Neel Kashkari vows to take an ax to harmful government practices in new TV ad
However, incumbent Democrat Governor Jerry Brown took in a staggering 54.5% of the total votes cast, proving that the road to victory in November will be long and difficult for Kashkari. The primary battle may be over, but the general election contest is already proving to be even more daunting.
Khanna, meanwhile, rode a wave of Silicon Valley support to take the second-highest vote total in the race for California’s 17th Congressional District, winning over 27% of the total votes cast. California Congressional primaries are set up so that the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.
This means that Khanna will go up against incumbent and fellow Democrat Mike Honda on November 4, continuing the hard-fought battle that has been raging between the two. Recently, Honda has been accused of using a PAC to send out disparaging information about Khanna, hoping that he’d lose the election in favor of Vanila Singh – that strategy apparently didn’t work.
Still, Honda has a lot of support within the San Francisco Bay Area, as evidenced by his winning nearly 49% of the votes. However, Singh lagged far behind, accumulating less than 17% of the ballots and taking her out of the race. Khanna and Honda advancing also ensures that Silicon Valley will remain in Democratic hands in Congress.
In a smaller race, Dr. Harinder Grewal has advanced through the primaries to represent California’s 12th Assembly District in the State Assembly. Grewal, a Democrat, secured 35% of the votes, and will go up against Republican incumbent Kristen Olsen, who garnered 64% of the ballots cast.
On the losing side, Dandekar lost a difficult five-way Democratic race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. State Representative Pat Murphy ultimately won, securing over 35% of the total votes. Dandekar, meanwhile, ended in third place with just about 18% of the ballots.
The District is heavily Democratic, meaning that the winner of this primary will likely win the general election in November. Had Dandekar won, and ultimately gotten elected to represent the District in Congress, she would have been the first woman of Indian origin to ever hold a seat in the US Congress.
Also losing was Upendra Chivukula, who was vying for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. A long-time statesman within New Jersey, this is now Chivukula’s second unsuccessful bid for US Congress. The Democratic politician lost to Bonnie Watson Coleman, who will take on Rep. Rush Holt in November; if she wins, she’ll be New Jersey’s first female Congressional Representative in more than a decade.
In other races, California Attorney General Kamala Harris also advanced through the primaries very comfortably, as expected. Rep. Ami Bera, of California’s 7th Congressional District, won his primary as well, securing 47% of the votes. He will face off against Republican Igor Birman, who got roughly 17% of the ballots in Tuesday’s primary.
The 2014 general elections will be held on Tuesday, November 4.