Democrats lose support among Indian-Americans, the nation's second-largest immigrant group

If Kamala Harris succeeds in winning the presidential election, she will become the first Indian-American president in history. However, according to the latest polls, Indian-Americans are moving away from the Democratic Party. This could be important in some states, given that this is the second largest immigrant group in the country.

Tunku Varadarajan, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a fellow at American Enterprise Institute, recently analyzed this demographic heading into November 5.

There are an estimated 5.2 million Indian-Americans in the United States, of whom 2.6 million are eligible to vote in the November presidential election. The group as such happens to be one of the most affluent in the country, with an average household income of $153,000, two-thirds with college degrees and 40% with postgraduate degrees.

This context leads them to be quite interesting voters for both parties. "The community's high socioeconomic status has made it an attractive target for campaigns run by both parties," explained by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank based in Washington DC.

"They are, increasingly, a political force in this country, though so far they lack the 'tribal' history that makes African-Americans, Hispanics, Irish-Americans and others such influential political blocs," Varadarajan explained in a recent op-ed published in The Debate media outlet.

"Younger Indian-American men seem more open to Trump"

While they have been closer to Democrats since 1960, in part because of a history closer to the Democratic Party, this trend began to change a few years ago and deepened in this election year.

According to the aforementioned think tank, 47% of Indian-Americans currently consider themselves Democrats, compared to 56% in 2020. At the same time, the number of those who consider themselves Republicans went from 22% to 21% in the same period, while independents increased from 15% to 26% in four years.

"What is surprising is that nearly 40% of Indian-American men report they will vote for Trump. Only 53% of men will vote for Harris, compared to 67% of Indian-American women who declare for her. This gender divide reflects the discord between men and women across ethnic groups in the U.S., where Trump is revealed to be the male candidate and Harris the female candidate," Varadarajan continued.

In addition, the Carnegie Endowment data note that "younger Indian-American men appear more open to Trump and more skeptical of Harris."

The major appeal of this group of voters to the GOP goes not only through Trump, but also through figures such as Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance. At least the latter two names, took public prominence in this election cycle.

This subtle shift in favor of Republicans could primarily impact two key states: Georgia and Pennsylvania, where there are more than 150,000 Indian-Americans in each. They also create an interesting population density in Nevada, Michigan and North Carolina.