(Image source from: The American Bazaar)

With just 13 days left for the midterm polls in the United States, Indian-American Democrats Sri Preston Kulkarni and Dr. Hiral Tipirneni are gaining momentum in their own congressional races against GOP incumbents.

Their two districts are amongst the eight races shifted by the unbiased Cook Political Report toward the Democrats when it updated its ratings on Tuesday. The forecaster moved two races toward Republicans.

Kulkarni, a former U.S. diplomat, is facing Representative Ted Olsen in Texas 22, which has been a consistent Republican district.

On Tuesday, Cook moved the district from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican."

Cook defines "Likely" districts as ones "not considered competitive at this point, but have the potential to become engaged."

"Lean" seats are districts that are "considered competitive races, but one party has an advantage."

Until this week, Tipirneni's district, Arizona 8th, was considered a "solid Republican"seat. That changed on Tuesday when it was moved to "Likely Republican."

Tipirneni, a physician, is up against Rep. Debbie Lesko, who, earlier this year, had defeated an Indian-American in a special election.

Cook's rating change came following the release of the third quarter fundraising reports, which showed that Tipirneni raised twice the amount that Lesko raised.

Ohio's first district is another closely watched race, where Indian-American Aftab Pureval is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Steve Chabot. The seat is considered a "toss-up", meaning either candidate has a good chance of winning.

Pureval, a rising star in Ohio's Democratic politics, has been endorsed by former President Barack Obama.

-Sowmya Sangam