Indo-Americans continue to dominate U.S. congress
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 04 November 2010, 08:09 IST   |    12 Comments
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Indo-Americans continue to dominate U.S. congress
Michigan: Following Nikki R Haley's victory to the Governor Mansion of South Carolina, making her the second U.S. Indian and fist female to the chair, Hansen Hashem Clarke, long time lawmaker in the Michigan state house and senate, became the first Indian American candidate to go to the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan. Clarke left the other 3 candidates, a Republican, a Green Party candidate, and a Libertarian to trail behind en route his journey to become the third Indian American ever to be elected to the U.S. House. Though final results are yet to be declared, Hansen, the Detroit-based candidate, whose father left the country from an undivided Bengal, is assured victory with an overwhelming lead from beginning till end which currently counts at 80 percent of the votes. Dr. Ami Bera running from California's District 3 against longtime Republican incumbent Dan Lungren is another expected winner from the community. Clarke's victory in the Democratic primaries back in August, when he ousted the long time Democratic incumbent Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, almost assured his final victory as he was campaigning in a heavily Democratic district. Clarke who was brought up by a single mother, earned a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and with the taste for politics acquired from there he started his political career as Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers. He was elected to the Michigan State House in 1990 for a two-year term. In 2000, he returned to the House. In 2002, he ran for the state senate and was elected and re-elected till his decision to run for the U.S. Congress. Clarke said that he first ran for office to help save neighborhoods like the one that he was born and raised, in his website. Clarke had promised to bring back jobs and retrain the hundreds of thousands who have lost work with the auto industry meltdown, in a state worst hit by the recession.

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