Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Disillusioned with President Donald Trump, a fourth of South Asian Americans, who earlier backed the Republican leader, are planning to support the Democrats again in the upcoming midterm elections to the US Congress, the media reported on Wednesday.
According to a survey, at least 25 per cent of South Asian Americans, who voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, are planning to support Democratic candidates in the November 3 midterm elections.
The survey, conducted by an advocacy group, Indian American Impact, lists higher cost of living (65 per cent), healthcare (53 per cent), jobs and wages (33 per cent) and education (28 per cent) as key issues for the midterm polls.
Among 800 South Asian registered voters surveyed, 87 per cent were Indian-Americans, while the remaining 13 per cent were of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Bhutanese, Maldivian, Afghani, and Burmese origins.
Ninety-six per cent of those who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, plan to cast their ballots in favour of a Democratic candidate in the upcoming polls.
The survey found that 67 per cent of South Asian Americans who voted for Trump still backed the Republicans, but 25 per cent said they would switch support to Democrats.
The findings come as early voting has begun in several states, including Texas, where Democratic nominee James Talarico is in a tight race against Republican Ken Paxton, who is supported by Trump.
Vasant Bhatt, a 21-year-old second-generation Indian American who had interned on Senator Ted Cruz’s election campaign in 2024, said in a social media post that he had voted for Talarico.
“I just cast my ballot for James Talarico. As a second-generation Indian American, I am thoroughly disgusted by the xenophobia, racial resentment, and increasingly brazen attacks on my identity,” Bhatt wrote.
The survey also highlighted concerns over discrimination, with 90 per cent of registered voters saying they had experienced discrimination or knew someone who had, including 48 per cent who said they had personally faced it.
“It comes as no surprise that a quarter of Trump’s 2024 voters in our community plan to vote Democratic. This community can make the margin, and we are working to reach every voter who can,” Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact, said in a statement.
The survey also found that 16 per cent of respondents had not voted in any general election since 2020.
Overall, 78 per cent of those surveyed said their vote could bring about change, while 79 per cent felt elected officials quickly lost touch with ordinary people. Another 67 per cent said public officials did not care about the views of people like them, and 43 per cent felt they had no say in government decisions.
The survey highlighted the potential significance of South Asian American voters in closely contested states.
Michigan is home to roughly 187,000 South Asian residents. Nearly 30,000 registered South Asian voters did not vote in 2022, more than the roughly 19,000 votes that decided the state’s 2024 Senate race.
Texas is home to more than 700,000 South Asian residents, and nearly 100,000 registered South Asian voters did not vote in 2022.
The Indian-American community has a strong presence in states such as California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
In battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina, even one or two per cent vote matters to swing an election in favour of a particular candidate.