Can you all feel the excitement in the air? I surely can. Election day is tomorrow and I am sure the vast majority of you will be voting (well, I mean those of you that haven’t already voted).

So which desis should we keep an eye on? The biggest hope is Rano Singh in Arizona but Ennis will cover her in more depth a bit later so I am going to talk about a few others of note (although there are quite a few more that I don’t have time to cover):

1) Bobby Jindal (R)- Jindal is considered a safe bet for re-election in Louisiana:

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Metairie, is running against a trio of challengers — Metairie Democrats David Gereighty of Metairie and Stacey Tallitcsh, as well as River Ridge Libertarian Peter Beary.

The 1st District generally covers the suburban areas around New Orleans and the parishes to the north and west.

Jindal, who ran an unsuccessful race for governor in 2003 and is considered a strong contender for a re-match with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco in next year’s race, raised about $2.5 million for the race.

While Jindal has taken care of buying his ad time, yard signs and other campaign staples, he has also donated a few hundred thousand to the Republican Party at the state and national level, as well as Republican candidates in Louisiana and other states.

Jindal has run his campaign on the issues of economic development and job growth, winning the war on terror, improving health-care access and using the rebuilding of the state in the wake of Katrina and Rita as a platform to make improvements that were needed before the storms. [Link]

For Jindal this is just a dress rehearsal. He is spreading his wealth to curry favor with other Louisiana politicians because he will definitely make a play for Governor Blanco’s job.

2) Raj Peter Bhakta (R)- As you may recall SM interviewed Bhakta (a Congressional candidate) earlier this year.

Bhakta is the son of Indian and Irish immigrants who has made the elimination of Section 8 public housing and erection of a border fence his central tenets.

To Tom Ellis, the Republican chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, he’s “a breath of fresh air,” a young candidate with ideas and panache who is recognizable to Ellis’ teenage daughters. Bhakta says he’s a reformer - even President Bush is a target - for honest government and fiscal responsibility.

To [his opponent Allison] Schwartz, Bhakta is novelty and political prankster whose sartorial statements - salmon sport coat, bow ties - mask a flimsy resume that includes two drunken-driving arrests.

His greatest novelty came down on the border. [Link]

In case any of you missed it, here is an engaging clip of a recent debate between Bhakta and Schwartz.

3) Neeraj Nigam (I)- Independent candidate Nigam is running for U.S. Congress in a district that is in the heart of George Allen’s “Real Virginia.”

During a televised debate featuring congressional candidates from Virginia’s 10th District, software analyst Neeraj Nigam walked up to the lectern, and said, “While meeting with the residents of my district, I was asked many times, ‘In what moment of insanity did you decide to run?’” Amid appreciative laughter, the Independent candidate went on to make an impassioned speech on why he is the best choice for his district. [Link]

4) Kumar Barve (D)- Kumar is the current majority leader of the Maryland State House and is being endorsed by the Washington Post.

Kumar Barve

IT’S NO SEA change in the making, but Montgomery County’s state legislative delegation will have a new look after Tuesday. The shifts are unlikely to swell the lean minority of Republicans, however, given the blueness of Maryland and the greenness of the GOP field of candidates. Here are our recommendations for the contested races…

DISTRICT 17: The Democratic candidates for the House offer exceptional skills: Kumar P. Barve, the bright and effective House majority leader; Luiz R.S. Simmons, a knowledgeable, savvy veteran; and Jim Gilchrist , a student of state government who shows potential as an advocate for the district’s concerns. [Link]

5) Dilip Paliath (R)- I previous covered Paliath here. He, like Barve, is running for the Maryland State House:

In Maryland, another state on the American east coast, Dilip Paliath is fighting as an Independent [Note: this article is incorrect. He is Republican] for the state legislature. The 35-year-old lawyer from Pikesville says, “I know that I can help make Maryland a better place by improving education, increasing job opportunities, making our streets safer, and meeting our responsibilities to seniors, children and taxpayers…” [Link]

6) Jay Goyal (D)- Goyal is running for the Ohio State House:

APA activists and Ohio democratic leaders gathered last month [July] to fete Jay Goyal, an Ohio native whose family hails from India, running for an Ohio state representative seat in the 73rd District…

Goyal recently won the democratic primary in May by 61 percent.

During the primary, Goyal ran an extensive grassroots campaign. [Link]

Goyal also has the endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown who is leading in the polls in Ohio (so we may see a coat tail effect):

“I am confident that Jay will become the first Indian American, and Asian American, elected at the state level in Ohio.”
— Congressman Sherrod Brown… [Link]

7) Swati Dandekar (D)- Dandekar is running in Iowa’s House District 36:

When my sons were young, I stayed home because they were my priority. But I really wanted to be involved in the community so I volunteered and taught at the elementary school. Soon after, I started to teach high school. Next, I became chair of the Parents Teachers Organization (PTO).

During the 1992-1993 school year, the Linn-Mar School District introduced a program called Outcome Based Education (OBE). It sounded great on paper, but I felt it could not be implemented without drastically changing the program and weakening the curriculum that was already in place. I went in front of the Linn-Mar School Board and convinced them not to go with the program…

Dick Myers and other leaders in the Democratic Party were watching me at the time. I ran for the Iowa Association of School Boards and won by a big margin. In 2000, Governor Tom Vilsack appointed me to the Vision Iowa Board, an economic development board focusing on the quality of life of our state. Democratic Minority Leader Dick Myers called and encouraged me to run as a representative for District 36. The opportunity was open and interesting to me, so I ran. [Link]

Like I said, these are just some of the many races I’m going to be watching. Do any of you know of state level Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or Sri Lankan American candidates that we should keep an eye on? Please leave comments informing us of races and ballot measures that you will be especially interested in following tomorrow!