AAPIs are increasing our presence in the halls of government, including Capitol Hill, but we have more work to do. Thirteen Asian Pacific Americans were elected to the current United States Congress: two Senators, nine Representatives, and two Delegates (from American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands). Following one resignation, twelve Asian Pacific Americans now serve in Congress. A total of 44 Asian Pacific Americans have served in the House and Senate from 1900 to the present.

As the general election approaches Nov. 6, 2012, Asian Fortune highlights the 17 Asian Pacific Islander candidates, Democrats and Republicans, who are running for office in the 113^th U.S. Congress. See Tammy Duckworth's profile here.

U.S. SENATE

U. S. Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) is running for the U.S. Senate seat from Hawaii vacated by the retirement of Senator Daniel Akaka. Born in Japan, Hirono served as a long-standing member of the Hawaii House of Representatives and as Lt. Governor before being elected to represent Hawaii’s 2^nd congressional district in Washington. She passed 120 laws during her 14-year tenure in Hawaii and was named Legislator of the Year in 1984.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Marisha Agana, MD (R-OH-13) is a tea-party backed Republican nominee for Congress in Ohio’s 13^th district. Born in the Philippines, she immigrated to the U.S. in 1987 and now runs a clinic for children in Warren, Ohio. She is a first-time candidate for office.

Ami Bera, MD (D-CA-7) is a Democrat running for the second time for the 7^th Congressional District seat from California. Dr. Bera was born in L.A. to Indian immigrant parents and has focused his campaign on Medicare laws.

Jay Chen (D- CA-39) is a Democrat who hopes to win a seat in California’s 39^th Congressional District Describing himself as a “businessman, management consultant, travel writer, education columnist and intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy reserve,” he is a first generation American whose parents came to the United States from Taiwan.

Upendra Chivukula (D-NJ-7) is a Democrat running for New Jersey’s 7^th Congressional district. Chivukula was the first Indian American to win a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and has represented the 17^th Legislative District since 2002.

Charles Djou (R-HA-1) is a Republican running for Hawaii’s 1^st Congressional District seat. A major in the U.S. Army Reserve, Djou briefly served the district as Congressman when he won a special election in May, 2010, only to lose in the November general election. Born to Thai and Chinese immigrant parents, he was one of the eight Republicans who were for the Dream Act.

Tulsi Gabbard (D-HA-2) is the Democratic candidate for Hawaii’s 2^nd Congressional District, the seat being vacated by U.S. Senate candidate Mazie Hirano. Born in Samoa, Gabbard hopes to become the first Hindu to serve in the House of Representatives. She is a Company Commander with the Hawaii Army National Guard, and served two deployments to the Middle East. Tulsi was elected as Hawaii's youngest state representative in 2002, representing Oahu 42^nd District and resigned from the Honolulu city council to run for Congress.

Ranjit "Ricky" Gill (R-CA-9) is the Republican candidate for California’s 9^th Congressional District. An agricultural business owner, Gill was born in Lodi, California, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and then from the law school at the University of California. Mr. Gill is reaching the constitutionally-mandated minimum age of 25 just in time for the election.

Colleen Wakako Hanabusa (D-HI-01) is the incumbent Democrat who has represented Hawaii’s 1^st district in the U. S. House of Representatives since January 2011. Hanabusa, a yonsei, fourth generation American of Japanese ancestry, is a labor lawyer and served as the Senate Majority Leader in the Hawaii State Legislature.

Sukhee Kang (D-CA-45) is seeking California’s 45^th congressional district seat. Currently mayor of Irvine, Calif., he is the first Korean-American to serve as chief executive in a major U.S. city. Mayor Kang would be the only Korean-American in Congress if elected, and only the second ever to serve.

Otto Lee (D-CA-22) is seeking a seat in the U.S. House from California’s District 22. The Chinese-American candidate became the 57^th mayor of Sunnyvale, California and served from 2004 to the present. Prior to that, he was a councilmember. Born in Hong Kong, Lee is a patent attorney and a co-founder and partner of the Intellectual Property Law Group LLP.

Grace Meng (D-NY-06) is a Taiwanese-American member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 22nd assembly district in Flushing, Queens, NY. She is running for New York’s 6^th congressional district. Born and raised in New York, Meng has a bachelor’s from the University of Michigan and a JD from Yeshiva University.

Nathan “Nate” Shinagawa (D-NY-23) is the 2012 Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives from the newly formed 23rd District of New York. He serves as vice chair of the Tompkins County Legislature and is on leave from his job as a Guthrie Health Administrator. Born in Berkley, Calif, Shinagawa has a master’s of public health administration from Cornell University.

Dr. Syed Taj (D-MI-11) is the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s 11th congressional district. He serves on the Canton, Michigan, Board of Trustees and stepped down from his post as Chief of Medicine at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn in March 2012 in order to concentrate on his campaign. He was born and raised in India.

Mark Takano (D-CA-41) is vying for the 41^st congressional district of California. A Riverside Community College Board Trustee, he was born and raised in Riverside, Calif., Takano is a Japanese-American, who earned a bachelor’s degree at Harvard College. If Takano wins, he will be the first openly LGBT person of color to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Dr. Manan Trivedi (D-PA-06) is the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 6th congressional district. A physician and Iraq War veteran, he is a son of immigrants from India. Trivedi was born and raised in Fleetwood, PA, and attended Boston University for college and medical school.