As the mid-term election got down to the wire, the Democrats were rooting for two young Indian-American physicians, Dr Manan Trivedi and Dr Ami Bera.
With the House of Representatives likely to go to the Republicans, the Democrats were pinning hopes on Trivedi and Bera, contesting in Pennsylvania's 6th District and California's 3rd District respectively, to edge out the Republican incumbents and give the party sometime to cheer about.
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Trivedi and Bera, both flush with over $1 million in their campaign coffers and considered Top Tier Red to Blue candidates by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, were being supported to the hilt by the Democratic establishment that expected them to oust GOP incumbents Jim Gerlach and Dan Lungren respectively. Poll numbers showed the elections could go either way on November 2.
If any of them wins, he will become the first Indian-American physician to be elected to the United States Congress, and the first Indian-American Democrat Congressman after more than half a century since Dalip Singh Saund was elected from California.
The only other Indian-American elected to Congress was Republican Piyush 'Bobby' Jindal, who after being re-elected for a second term, left Congress to make a second and successful effort for the governorship of Louisiana.
Last week, Trivedi and Bera redoubled their attacks on their opponents with television advertisements and radio spots. Democratic Party Chairman Tim Kaine was on hand for a second time to boost Trivedi's campaign, a clear indication that the party was banking on Trivedi to oust Gerlach.
According to most accounts, Trivedi prevailed in the two debates with Gerlach. The Republican incumbent's camp refused the media to audio or video-tape the debates.
"Congressman Gerlach is beginning to realise that, after so many years in Washington, he has completely lost touch with the people he is supposed to be representing," Trivedi said.
"That's why he had to fight so hard to lie or distract or avoid questions about why he continues to support those tax breaks that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas, the failed tax cuts to the millionaires and billionaires under the Bush tax cuts which have been proven to note create jobs, and bailing out his Wall Street buddies."
Going after Gerlach for not allowing an audio or video recording of the debate, Trivedi said, "It is shameful that a Congressman would want to hide from his constituents, though with a record of hurting his own district like Congressman Gerlach has, it's no surprise. The people of the 6th District deserve more than buried truth and hide-and-seek. No one is ever going to start trusting their elected officials again unless we send new leaders to Congress who will start practicing the transparency and openness that a democratically-elected government requires."
Bera was also on the offensive, saying that Lungren continued to accept huge contributions from special interests, particularly the health insurance lobby, and then do their bidding. He accused Lungren of favouring the privatisation of Medicare and replacing it with a voucher system that would "cover less and less care, shifting the burden to America's most vulnerable citizens -- our seniors."
Bera pointed out that in 2005, Lungren had voted to slash $6.4 billion in Medicare payments -- a plan denounced by the American Association of Retired Persons.
Bera said that Lungren also had voted against closing the prescription donut hole, and had voted against lowering the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.
Lungren's vulnerability has not gone unnoticed. In its analysis of key House races in this mid-term election, The New York Times said, "Dan Lungren is one of the few Republican House seats 'in the Cross-Hairs.'' The Cook Political Report said, "Lungren continues to look like he is actually in trouble. This is a legitimately competitive race now."
Bera also outraised Lungren for the six consecutive quarter, piling more than $550,000 in the third quarter ending September 30. Bera had raised over $2.13 million since his campaign launch.
Bera's campaign manager Lucinda Guinn said, "Over 3,300 individuals have given to our campaign, while our opponent has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate special interest and done their bidding in Congress."
Another Top Tier Red to Blue Democratic candidate, state legislator Rajiv Goyle, running in Kansas's 4th District for the open seat against Republican Mike Pompeo, was trailing in this largely conservative district.
The Democratic Party was hoping this native son of Wichita, Kansas, a Harvard Law School alumnus who returned to his hometown to serve the public, would be able to turn it around in the last few days against his opponent's negative campaign.
Democrat Ravi Sangisetty, a young attorney running for Congress in Louisiana's 3rd District for an open seat, was also trailing his Republican opponent Jeff Landy in the heavily GOP-oriented district.
If Sangisetty emerges victorious he will record a major upset, political analysts said.
Another Democrat with Indian origins, Hansen Clarke, was expected to be a shoo-in the largely Democratic Michigan's 13th District in Detroit against Republican John Hauler. Clarke defeated long-time Democratic incumbent Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick in the primary.
In Maryland, Sam Arora and Aruna Miller, who won their primaries convincingly, were also expected to easily win in the heavily Democratic Montgomery County districts and join House Majority Leader Kumar Barve in the state assembly in Annapolis, making the Maryland House of Delegates the only state legislature being represented by more than one Indian American.
