Resonating with immigrants

Sumathi Madhure, 63, a physical therapist in New Hampshire, says she has never seen this level of enthusiasm among Indian American voters. She says it all started when Harris took over as the Democratic Party candidate.

“Voter engagement in the Indian American community has skyrocketed,” says Madhure, co-chair of the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) New Hampshire Democrats. “It’s there in fundraising, volunteering … you can see it everywhere. In fact, before it was very challenging to recruit them. Now it’s challenging to keep them out. People want to knock on doors and they want to make phone calls.”

A poll in July suggested 46 percent of Indian Americans would cast their ballots for President Joe Biden. Once Harris ascended to the top of the ticket, that share rose to 69 percent.

Madhure works the phones for the Democrats three nights a week, reaching out to Indian and other South Asian voters. On weekends, she knocks on around 700 doors to get out the vote.

She was even elected as one of the delegates who chose Kamala Harris to be the nominee at her party’s national convention.

Madhure says she can’t believe the changes she has seen in the four decades since she moved from India to the US. When she arrived, at age 20, she could not have imagined someone who shares her ethnic background running for president.

“Every time I went out and saw another Indian, whether it was in the grocery store or anywhere, I would go tap their shoulder, get their contact and we would invite each other for dinner at our houses,” she says. “We were trying to build a community. Those were like small streams.”

Now, she feels those streams of Indian immigrants are flowing into a “robust river” under Harris.

“The first generation of immigrants always has this feeling that we were not born and raised here,” she says. “My children feel differently. But we are from India. Harris’s heritage gives us legitimacy. The fact that someone who looks like me might become president makes me feel American, even though I am.”

The “Sleeping Giant”

According to analysis by AAPI Data, an organization focused on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the population of Indian Americans has grown from 387,000 in 1980 to 4.4 million in 2020. That includes more than two million eligible voters.

Shekar Narasimhan, founder of the AAPI Victory Fund, describes this voting bloc as a “Sleeping Giant.”

He says many first-generation immigrants focus on working hard for their families. And voting is not necessarily a priority, particularly if you think your ballot doesn’t matter. But he says those in the second generation have a deeper connection to politics and believe they should have their say.

While Indian Americans are still a small segment of the US electorate, in battleground states their numbers are great enough to make a difference.

Georgia is one example. A survey suggests 70 thousand Indian Americans are eligible to cast ballots in the state. In the election four years ago, the margin of difference there was just 11 thousand votes.

“So, they believe they can be a part of that difference,” says Narasimhan. “But they come from the country of India. They’re Indian American. That doesn’t mean they care about exactly the same things.”

Indian Americans for Trump

Aware of their growing influence, Republicans with Indian heritage are also making their voices heard.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy both campaigned for the Republican nomination but lost out to Donald Trump. Usha Vance, the wife of Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, has joined her husband on the campaign trail.

Republican supporters believe they can make a difference in the tight race.

Yagnesh Choksi, 71, president of the South Asian Republican Coalition, has been organizing roundtables in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, to get a sense of what voters are thinking. He has supported the party for three decades.

“Trump is the right candidate because he is strict. If he doesn’t get results, he immediately takes action,” he says. “It is a total mess at this point: economy-wise, safety-wise and business-wise. Democrats are not taking good steps for small business, they are not taking any action. And all in our Indian community are in small businesses.”

Other small business owners attending a roundtable echo Choksi’s complaint that the current administration has failed them.

“What happened in the last four years was a lot of people thought they were deceived with what the Democrats did,” says Republican voter Prashant Shah.

Another supporter, Arun Pareek, agrees. “The topmost issue in everybody’s mind is the economy and how we are suffering,” he says.

Devesh Kapur, a professor of South Asia Studies at Johns Hopkins University, says a survey in October showed Harris continues to attract support from Indian Americans. But he notes their attachment to the blue party has declined: 47% of respondents identify as Democrats, down from 56% in 2020.

He points to one segment of the community: “Harris dominates Trump by two to one in terms of their voting preferences. But we found a drop of support especially in young male voters born in the US…and the reason is not clear to us from the survey.”

Choksi says he is detecting a shift when he calls first-time voters.

“I see in every county new registrations and voters changing party,” he says. “And they are changing from Democrat to Republican. Until now, Americans were thinking this is a minority community, but this time, they will realize that Indian voters are equally important.”