The Dallas Morning News reports on a local race where the changing faces of America are facing off against each other. In Texas’ 112th state house district, Taiwanese-American Republican Angie Chen Button is running against Democrat Sandra Phuong VuLe, who was born in Vietnam. Both naturalized citizen advocate for border security, with Button using familiar conservative phrases like, “learn English, pay taxes, embrace our culture and pledge allegiance to the flag.” Also running is Ukrainian-born Philip White, a 22-year-old student who is running on the Libertarian ticket.

The district, just outside Dallas, is home to a diverse array of immigrants:

The area reflects immigration’s sweep. There’s Chinese and Korean lettering on churches, Vietnamese noodle houses, taqueriás, and Middle Eastern eateries offering hookah pipes with the falafel.

In Minnesota, the 30-year-old son of Indian immigrants is doing well in a race for Congress, one of many Democrats buoyed by the economic crisis. Ashwin Madia, a veteran of the war in Iraq, is slightly ahead in Minnesota’s 3rd district, has received millions of dollars in help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. His district, a suburb of the Twin Cities, has a significant Indian population, and Madia has received financial support from Indian-Americans across the county. If elected, he would be the only Indian-American in Congress.

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, the first Indian-American governor of a U.S. state, will speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. tonight. The 37-year-old first-generation American is a rising star in the Republican party, and at one point there was even talk of a V.P. spot. But with Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, the first Indian-American governor of a U.S. state, will speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. tonight. The 37-year-old first-generation American is a rising star in the Republican party, and at one point there was even talk of a V.P. spot. But with South Asian Americans representing a swing voting group, how did Jindal come to be a solid social conservative and the governor of a southern state?

Jindal was born in Louisiana shortly after his parents arrived there to go to grad school. Raised a Hindu by parents who until recently were Democrats, Jindal converted to Catholicism at Brown University. His social conservatism is rooted in this faith, especially his opposition to abortion.

He also believes that immigration should be restricted. Of his position on immigration, Jindal told the New York Times Magazine,

When done properly, when people follow the rules like my parents did, it’s good for those families… I don’t think it’s healthy when you’ve got as many as 12 million people here illegally. The way that we’re doing it now is not truly offering them the American dream.

Jindal, who was appointed Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals in 1996, at the startlingly young age of 25, has experienced a rapid rise in the Republican Party. He was elected to Congress in 2004 and governor in 2007. His success has been followed and cheered in India, where after the 2007 election his cousin told the Times of India,

We are really proud that Bobby has finally made it and won the Governor’s race. It’s a great honour not just for our family, but Punjab and the nation as well as the son of this soil have achieved something really big.