For two months Surya Yalamanchili, marketing executive and former contestant on The Apprentice, fought as an independent for the Congress in Ohio's 2nd District. Then he decided to run as a Democrat.
"I entered this race as an independent because of my deep frustration with the current state of our political system and its inability to address our serious national challenges," he said.
"As I've made my way across the 2nd District, it has become clear to me that I can do the most good from within the Democratic Party."
Moreover, he points out, there are no independents in the 435-member House of Representatives.
Donald Trump "fired" him from the 2007 edition of The Apprentice, but the reality show gave Yalamanchili star power and name recognition, which is helping him now.
The district in the Cincinnati area tilts to the conservative side, but the three-term Republican incumbent, Jean Schmidt, is, unpopular, facing strong challenges from other Republicans in the primary.
Yalamanchili hopes the scenario gives him better chances to win. He faces two opponents in the Democratic primary scheduled for May. Others could join the fight till the deadline to file nominations ends February 18. Two opponents, Jim Parker and David Krikorian, have run as independents earlier.
But being a Democrat has its disadvantages. In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama won only 40 percent of the votes here; John McCain bagged 60 percent. Yalamanchili believes Obama has done little to mollify even those who voted for him.
"Simply put, our government is out of control," he said.
"It is no longer working for us. We are left with a simple fact: To get back on track, we must do the heavy lifting. We must return government to the path of responsibility ourselves. We must rebuild the fundamentals of our economy -- real jobs, real growth, a sustainable future -- ourselves."
Yalamanchili said his Apprentice experiences might have prepared him for politics.
"These shows are all about posturing, playing gotcha, backstabbing and being incredibly opportunistic. If that doesn't describe the modus operandi of the Republican and Democratic parties in Washington, I don't know what does," he said.
He is clear about the problems the country faces. "Fiscally, our national debt and trade imbalance threatens the solvency of what we leave for our children. Legislatively, we have proceeded over an ambitious expansion of government programs without concern for accountability or effectiveness.
"We must reignite the American economy on a path that provides sustainable jobs for our future security and produces goods the world needs. For too long we have been adrift and comfortable ceding production of vital goods to other countries," he said.
He also suggested that US could welcome "immigration that is profitable for America -- those that start companies, bring deep technical talent and create more".
Yalamanchili grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Cincinnati after graduating, to work as a brand manager for Proctor & Gamble's Olay lotion franchise.
After his stint on Trump's show, he worked for Internet social media companies, including the professional networking site LinkedIn. He believes the last two syllables of his name will be a hit in chili crazy Cincinnati. His campaign Web site is www. votechili.com
Image: Surya Yalamanchili
