Indian Americans are running for elective offices ranging from school boards to the House of Representatives, totaling some 12 aspirants. Some, like Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, are going to probably make history to become the second Indian American ever in the House several decades after Dalip Singh Saund of California, made it to the national legislature in 1957.

Iowa Democratic Assemblywoman Swati Dandekar says things look hopeful in her largely Republican 36th district where she is running for re-election against 22-year old Republican candidate Cory Crowley, who is an aide to Senator Charles Grassley. Crowley is drawing on his family history to imply without saying so that he is a more entrenched Iowan than Dandekar, a rocky road to traverse because that is what defeated Dandekar’s last Republican opponent.

Meanwhile, Sidharta ‘Sid’ Das, who is in a battle for the New Hampshire State House from a largely Republican district of Pelham, has little chance of making it. An unusual race is that of Republican Jay Rao in North Carolina, who is running for Secretary of State against an entrenched Democratic incumbent Elaine F. Marshall. But Rao who came to the U.S. when she was four and now owns a small business, says she wants to be a bridge between the political and business worlds. “Our political leaders need to be involved with job creation and economic development if we are going to take our state forward in this competitive global economy.”

Republican Nicky Randhawa Haley, running for South Carolina State House from District 87, has a better chance having the whole weight of the state Republican political machine behind her as she faces independent Rich Bolen. She beat Republican veteran incumbent Larry Kuhn by 504 votes (2,929 to 2,426) in the June 22 runoff.

Experienced politicians will tell you that rising from below is a better way to winning big offices. So Shinku Sharma, 40, twice president of the Saratoga Education Foundation, is running for the Saratoga Union School District board. She will have to displace one of two incumbents and says she wants to prioritize allocating limited district funds. Formerly a marketing engineer with Hewlett Packard, Sharma, her husband and three daughters have lived in Saratoga for eight years.

Atul Mitra, a civil engineer and businessman in New Haven is running for the New Haven Unified School Board member in this California district. He says he has been endorsed by the New Haven Teachers Association, the Alameda County Democratic Party, and Mayor Mark Green of Union City.

Rakesh Sharma, a biochemist who is running for the Fremont City Council, California, is endorsed by an impressive list of Congressmen including Reps. Pete Stark and Mike Honda, California State Treasurers Phil Angelides and Liz Figueroa, State Assembly members John Dutra and Ellen Corbett. He calls himself a ‘People’s Candidate,’ and focuses on investing in children, fighting for quality housing, conservation of parks, and maintaining economic development.

Electrical engineer and management consultant Shantu Shah of Oregon wants to be on the Board of the Washington County Public Utility District, which will be created along with its directors if voters agree on Nov. 2.