By The SATimes News Service
Washington: Indian American Democrat Sarah Gideon is up 6 points against the incumbent Susan Collins for the US Senate seat from Maine, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
In a blue state, longtime Senator Collins while trying to stay in the center, has opposed going ahead before election with Trump’s nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ginsburg. This has expectedly brought the wrath of the President that Maine voters will punish her for that.
All that means is that the chances of Sarah Gideon defeating Collins on November 3 have brightened. She is currently Speaker of the Maine State Assembly. For the Senate, she was endorsed by no less than former President Barack Obama. Maine is important, being one of the seats Democrats are trying to flip this election to wrest control of the Senate from the Republicans.
48-year-old Gideon was born to an Indian immigrant father and a second-generation Armenian mother in Rhode Island. Gideon’s father immigrated from India and worked as a pediatrician in Rhode Island, where Gideon, the youngest of four children, grew up. She moved to Maine after meeting her husband Ben Gideon, a personal injury trial lawyer.
Her senatorial campaign has focused on “putting Maine first” as she emphasizes the need for politicians to focus on those they represent while working for larger national interests. A supporter of women’s rights, Gideon’s campaign promises to focus on women’s healthcare and reproductive rights. Due to her impetus on improving the lives of working-class families in Maine, Gideon enjoys the support of most of the labor unions in the region, including ones that had previously supported Collins.
Gideon has attracted the attention of the Democrat party across the US and has managed to pull off an impressive war chest to run her campaign against Collins.
If elected in November, she will be the second Indian American woman to be elected to the US Senate after Kamala Harris from California.
