Haley, Harris, Jayapal, Miller make community proud.
By Sujeet Rajan
WASHINGTON, DC: While it was a miserable day for all the four Indian American candidates who vied for the US House of Representatives, four Indian American women won their polls comfortably to make the community proud.
Of the four, the most prominent victory was scored by incumbent South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, who trounced her Democrat challenger Vincent Sheheen by a mammoth margin, to get another four years in office. Haley got 688,844 votes (55.95% of the vote), humbling Sheheen who managed to get 510,051 votes (41.43% of the vote).
Sheheen, who went for a second successive charge against Haley, had all but lost the election even before polling closed on Tuesday, after his highly controversial and sexist term of ‘whore’ against Haley in a speech, which alienated a lot of the women voters in the state. He became a pariah in his own party, coming in for criticism from Democrat leaders.
For Haley, 42, who pointed out in her victory speech the jobs the state had created under her tenure and her achievement in making the state more transparent as residents can now see online how legislators vote on bills, a bright future lie ahead as the 2016 presidential polls approach. A charismatic speaker, she is one of the strongest candidates for a GOP vice presidential ticket.
“We’re going to make sure that we continue our focus on those children in South Carolina regardless of what rural county they’re from, regardless of what corner they were raised to make sure every child can build a plane or a car or a tire or whatever they want to because this is South Carolina and this is where we’re going to continue to take care of our children and educate them,” said Haley in her victory speech.
KAMALA HARRIS WINS: In California, a potential Governor or US Senate candidate in the future, incumbent Kamala Harris, 50, was re-elected as Attorney General, soon after the polls closed. With 72 percent of precincts reporting, she won 55% of votes cast, with a total of 2,360,077 total, against her Republican opponent, political novice Ron Gold.
In a statement, Harris, who has been touted as a possible replacement for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who resigned in September, quashed those speculations, saying she wants to focus on work in the state.
“I am honored to even be mentioned, but intend to continue my work for the people of California as Attorney General,” Harris said. “I am focused on key public safety issues including transnational gangs, truancy and recidivism.”
Harris has a wealth of experience under her belt, having already served two terms as San Francisco district attorney.
PRAMILA JAYAPAL WINS: In a historic first for Washington state, the rising Democrat star Pramila Jayapal was elected to the State Senate seat from the 37th Legislative District in her debut bid, becoming the first Indian American to be elected to the state legislature.
A law professor and leading social, civil and immigrant rights activist, Jayapal won with an overwhelming margin, winning 66% of the vote in the constituency, which includes South Seattle.
“I’m proud to represent the most racially and economically diverse district in Washington State,” Jayapal, who was born in India and came to the US at the age of 16, told a packed Royal Room in Columbia City, in her victory speech. “Our district represents the future of this state and country …and this is just the beginning.”
Jayapal, who has an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University rose in prominence after she campaigned vigorously for Seattle’s “Hate Free Zone” concept after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
ARUNA MILLER WINS: The Democrat Miller retained her District 15 legislative seat for the second time in Maryland; a state that has turned startlingly red with change in Governor.
The constituency is Montgomery County’s largest district both in terms of geographic area and population and includes Boyds, Clarksburg, Darnestown, Germantown, Poolesville, Potomac, Dickerson, Barnesville, Beallsville as well as parts of Gaithersburg, North Potomac, and Rockville.
Miller, an engineer by training, who was born in India, has been serving the Maryland legislature since 2010. She has been a champion of laws to protect children and environment, and promote public safety.