Indian Americans still back Democratic Party but their attachment has declined: Survey

The proportion of those identifying as Independents (26%) has increased, while those identifying as Republican has remained steady (21%)

A new survey of Indian American political attitudes finds that while members of this group strongly support the Democratic Party, as they have historically, their attachment to the party has declined. The Indian American Attitude Survey (IAAS) finds that the proportion of respondents identifying as Democrats is 47%, down from 56% in 2020, when the survey was last conducted.

The proportion of those identifying as Independents (26%) has increased, while those identifying as Republican has remained steady (21%). The decline in numbers favoring the Democratic Party has been offset, the authors say, by a rise in Republican identifiers amongst the Independents, yet the total number of those identifying with the ideological left has grown since 2020.

The survey and its accompanying report, was published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) and authored by Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav. It was conducted online and in partnership with YouGov, by surveying 714 U.S. Citizen Indian American respondents between September 18 and October 15, 2024. The margin of error was +/- 3.7%.

The survey finds that a majority (60%) of registered Indian American voters plan to vote for U.S. Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, while just under a third (32%) intends to vote for the Republican candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

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The results of the IAAS survey are in line with several polls across demographics which reveal a gender gap in the support for both candidates, with women favouring Ms. Harris and men favouring Mr. Trump (particularly among younger populations). A larger proportion of Indian American women (67%) intend to vote for Ms. Harris than their male counterparts (53%). On the flip side, a larger proportion (39%) of Indian American men intend to vote for Mr. Trump than their female counterparts (22%).

The report says the respondents rate Indian American Republicans unfavorably (i.e., they are “lukewarm” to them). These Republicans are former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who is a daughter of Panjabi immigrants; former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a son of Tamil immigrants; and Usha Vance, a daughter of Telugu immigrants and wife of Mr. Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance.

However, the data show that the Republican party’s relative underperformance with Indian Americans is not because of these personalities, but because GOP policies are not aligned with Indian American values. The study says that Democrats, when asked why they do not identify as Republicans, cited the GOP’s “intolerance of minorities”. Abortion, which has emerged as a major issue for Democrats and women as well as the GOP’s ties to Christian evangelicalism top the list of issues that alienate Indian Americans from the party.

Those who do not associate with the Democratic party cited as reasons, weakness on illegal immigration (27%), the party being too left wing (17%), the party being misguided on the economy (15%) and the party being too focused on identity politics (14%).

Indian Ethnicity Not a Major Factor in Preference for Harris, Haley

In terms of their views on Ms. Harris, who is the first woman of Indian descent seeking the U.S. Presidency, an overwhelming number (72%) of respondents said that they planned to vote for Ms. Harris in her own right, while 23% said they were voting for her as a vote against Mr. Trump. Only 7% said they’re voting for Ms. Harris because she is Indian American.

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About a quarter (26%) of respondents said they are voting for Ms. Harris because she is a liberal or progressive voice, while 13% said Ms. Harris would strengthen US-India relations, and that is why they planned on voting for her.

On the Republican side, just over half (51%) of respondents who favoured Ms. Haley over Mr. Trump as the Republican candidate, said that they preferred her because they thought she would be a more competent president. A third (33%) said Ms. Haley would have been their preferred candidate because had less extreme policies than Mr. Trump. Only 6% said they supported Ms. Haley because of her heritage.

Indian Americans – like Americans, broadly (as per polls) – are most concerned about cost of living issues and the economy. The top issues, among respondents, are inflation and prices and then jobs and the economy. 13% say that abortion is an important election issue, followed by immigration and health care. Republican Indian Americans are significantly more concerned about the state of the economy than Democrats. A significantly higher proportion of Indian American Democrats are concerned about climate change than their Republican counterparts.

US-India Ties More Important for Republican Indian Americans

Indian American Republicans are more concerned about foreign policy, with nine per cent saying US-India, relations are their most important issue, versus five per cent of Democrat Indian Americans.

Published - October 28, 2024 10:26 am IST