The approximately 2.1 million Indian American voters are a small part of the more than 161 million strong US electorate. Yet he has emerged as a notable force in the country’s politics. With one of their own, Kamala Harris, running for president, the highly aspirational community is excited. Having established themselves as an educated and prosperous group, they understand that it is important for their voices to be heard in the corridors of power. And their importance is increasing not only as voters but also as candidates, mobilisers and fund raisers.
unprecedented fundraising
Indian Americans are seeing a ‘significant surge’ in participation in political fundraising. “More than ever, people are stepping up, contributing large sums of money and actively engaging in the political process,” says Ajay Bhutoria, a member of the Democratic National Finance Committee and a fundraiser for more than two decades. Are.”
The $145,000 median income for Indian American households is 21% higher than the overall U.S. average. Shekhar Narasimhan, founder and president of the AAPI Victory Fund, the largest super PAC (political action committee) among the Asian American diaspora, says that even though it is not easy to get accurate data on how much finance Indians are putting into American campaigns, there is a lot of support in the community. Are big donors. This is evident from the fact that Indian-Americans constitute 5% of the Democratic National Finance Committee, while their share in the US population is only 1%. Also, small-dollar donors are important, says Narasimhan.
MR Rangaswami, founder and chairman of Indiaspora, also notes the significant amount of wealth generated. “We now have two healthy PACs with the AAPI Victory Fund and the Indian American Impact Fund, so more and more money is coming in,” he says. The largest homegrown PAC, Indian American Impact, is also identifying and training the next batch of leaders.
Dr. Sangay Mishra, Associate Professor of Political Science at Drew University and author Desis Divided: The Political Lives of South Asian Americansfound in its research that since 2012, Indians have been “very visible” in “bundling” contributions to American campaigns. “We’ve seen that kind of big impact because of the number of very wealthy people raising money in the community network,” he says.
It is a popular saying that the way to the White House lies through Silicon Valley – the hub of tech-rich Indians. Harris’s recent California fundraiser brought in $55 million in one weekend; He has raised one billion dollars since becoming the nominee. Powerful fundraisers made news for the Democratic campaign this election cycle, including an event hosted by billionaire AI investor and technologist Vinod Khosla. There are more than 60 Indian names in Kamala’s list of vice-chancellors. Other business leaders and founders supporting him include corporate leaders like Indra Nooyi.
permanent republican vote
While Harris’ candidacy has further loosened the purse strings of emboldened Democrats, Indian American supporters of Donald Trump, including Vivek Ramaswamy, remain loyal to the Republican Party.
Sampat Shivangi, a longtime Republican loyalist and the only Indian American delegate to the Republican National Convention this year, has been elected to the body for the sixth time. He’s sending a big check to the Trump campaign. Then there’s hotelier Danny Gaikwad, who has contributed to the campaigns of every Republican presidential candidate since George Bush. “There was a lot of money involved in the October event. People I know are calling me – Bhau, I want to go, my wife wants to go,” Gaikwad says of a sold-out fundraiser.
Republicans like Shivangi say they support Trump because “Harris is not a friend of India”. Along with allegations of “diluting” her Indian American identity, they point out that she failed to visit India during her years as Vice President.
However, Republicans acknowledge that enthusiasm among the party’s Indian American supporters, especially Hindus, has waned since 2020, when President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friendly relationship generated huge buzz. “Maybe (because) he is a third-time candidate,” Gaikwad explains.
However, wooed by both parties, Indian Americans have largely voted for the Democrats. The 2024 AAPI Data survey found that 55% of Indian Americans identify as Democrats, 25% as Republicans and 15% as independents.
sway in swing states
The Indian American community is important to both parties because even though they make up only 1% of the US population, nearly a third of them live in presidential battlegrounds like Michigan and Georgia, where they have a say in shaping the outcomes. Can play a big role. Recalling the narrow Democratic victory in Georgia in 2020, Mishra says, “In a state like that, it matters because the margin was so small. Indian Americans voted one way and the election went that way, if they had Had voting been done the other way, the results may have been different.” In some past presidential elections, decisions were taken by narrow margins in some states. Surveys show that the current situation looks equally ripe. There are approximately 400,000 voters of South Asian origin in the 10 most contested swing states. “There are a large number of Indian Americans who can make a difference,” says Dr. Mishra.
Thus, highly politically engaged community volunteers make strategic use of their resources in key states. Based in Democratic stronghold California, Sangeetha Ramakrishnan is She C Blue’s ‘lead’ for swing state calls. “There are more of us in blue states and because you don’t have to knock on so many doors here, it’s better to use our resources effectively,” she says.
In every election, Pennsylvania’s Bucks County enjoys the reputation of being “the most swing county in the most swing state”. “We have phone banks manned by Gujarati volunteers, Malayalam speakers, Urdu speakers. We have a whole bunch of different volunteers,” says Rupa Mohan, a volunteer with They See Blue.
Overall, political participation of the 4.8 million strong young immigrant community is increasing. In the last two presidential elections, their turnout among Asian Americans was the highest, on par with white voters. At least 71% of eligible Indian Americans voted in 2020, an increase of 9 points from 2016. This trend is expected to continue. Recent Asian American voter surveys show that nearly 91% of Indian Americans plan to vote in this election.
office dreams
It is not just election numbers that raise the political profile of Indian Americans – they also nurture strong ambitions for office. From the highest levels – the presidency – to Congress, state senates, legislatures, district attorneys, city councils, school boards, their numbers are vast.
No one actually has a count of how many Indian American candidates there are in the 2024 race. But there are five Indian Americans in the current US Congress, and, says Narasimhan, after the coming elections, the community is likely to have seven. It took decades to reach this number after the first Indian American was elected to Congress in 1956. But growth has been rapid over the past 20 years, thanks to second-generation Indian Americans and their education levels, which are much higher than in the US. average.
As far as their numbers in the administration are concerned, while Indian Americans constitute only 0.6% of the adult citizen population in the US, they hold about 4.4% of senior positions in the government. There are more than 150 Indian Americans in the Biden-Harris administration, and that number is expected to increase by more than 50 if Harris becomes president.
search for impact
Having conquered every metric on the ladder of advancement – votes, money and candidates – Indian American leaders are aspiring to the political representation that the much older Jewish American population enjoys. Jews make up about 2% of the US population but make up 10% of the US Congress. “By force, we have been here for almost 30 years,” says Rangaswami. “We are 7% of American physicians, 10% of the American IT sector, and we are well represented in academia and government, so why not have our influence?” ”
Already, as early voting begins, supporters of both parties are campaigning aggressively through door-to-door canvassing, postcards, phone calls and messages. “It’s going to get hotter in the next few weeks!” says Shobha Chokkalingam, Atlanta-based leader of the Georgia chapter of the American Hindu Coalition. But it is the ‘homegrown’ Democratic supporters for whom this election is especially special. With Kamala Harris joining the race, the Indian American community is eager to play a role in creating history. Rangaswamy explained it well: “If Kamala Harris becomes president — I mean, keep in mind there has been no Jewish president in America — that could be a huge thing. So let’s see!”
(Savita Patel is a San Francisco Bay Area-based journalist and producer. She reports on the Indian diaspora, India-US relations, geopolitics, technology, public health and the environment. She tweets at @SsavitaPatel.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
