US election: why is Kamala Harris losing Indian-American voters? | US Election News 2024

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is expected to lose some of her party's traditional share among Native American voters who have historically sided with Democrats in the 2024 U.S. elections, according to a new survey of the community's political attitudes.

Although Harris could become the first Native American president of the United States, a survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found that she would likely get fewer votes from the community than incumbent President Joe Biden in 2020.

An estimated 61 percent of community respondents will vote for Harris, according to the survey, down nearly 4 percent from the last presidential election in 2020.

The 5.2 million-strong Native American community makes up the second-largest immigrant bloc in the United States after Mexican Americans, with approximately 2.6 million voters eligible to cast ballots in the state election. November 5.

There was also a decline in community attachment to Harris' party, with 47% of respondents identifying as Democrats, compared to 56% in 2020. Meanwhile, researchers noted a slight shift in community preferences, with a slight increase in willingness. vote for the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump.

Small but influential

Both parties have stepped up their outreach to the immigrant group in recent years, as the community continues to grow its political reach and clout. While Harris is now the face of the party, several Indian-Americans have also gained notoriety on the Republican side, from former presidential candidate and ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley to entrepreneur-turned-surrogate Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the vice-presidential candidate. JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance.

Four days before Nov. 5, pollsters say the election is too close to call, with Harris' national advantage over Trump shrinking, according to the FiveThirtyEights poll. And in the seven battleground states, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada, the two candidates are separated by less than 2 percentage points, within the polls' margin of error.

The outcome of the presidential race could come down to a few thousand votes in these crucial swing states, where smaller communities like Indian-Americans could play a central role, political analysts and observers told Al Jazeera .

Although the Indian American community is not very large in absolute numbers, it can help tip the decision one way or the other, said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and co-author of the work. paper. There are many states where the community population is greater than the margin of victory in the 2020 presidential election.

Indian Americans make up the largest Asian American community in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan. There are more than 150,000 American Indians in Pennsylvania and Georgia, a number far greater than the margin by which Biden won those two states, with 35 electoral college votes between them in 2020.

But why is the community vote shifting away from Democrats?

Deepening divisions between the sexes

For Aishwarya Sethi, a 39-year-old Indian American voter based in California, Harris' speech in favor of abortion rights in the country struck a chord, she told Al Jazeera. But her husband, who works at a tech company in the state, she says, is leaning more and more toward the Republican base. I don't understand why her policy is changing, but it's happening gradually, she said. I will still try to convince him to vote for greater sexual autonomy.

This gender-based partisan divide is reflected in several research papers and major exit polls in the United States. Within the Native American community, according to the latest survey, 67 percent of women intend to vote for Harris while 53 percent of men, a smaller proportion, plan to vote for the vice president.

Reproductive freedom is a major concern for women across America, including South Asian women and [female] The support for Harris is not surprising given her stance on abortion rights, said Arjun Sethi, an Indian American lawyer based in Washington, DC.

As a growing number of South Asian men favor strong border policies and a more favorable tax regime, [therefore] align with Trump.

A closer look at the data reveals that the gender gap is more pronounced among younger voters.

A majority of men and women over 40 say they plan to choose Harris. However, among voters under 40, the male vote is split almost evenly between Harris and Trump, while women overwhelmingly support Harris.

There is also growing skepticism among some Indian American men voting for a woman president, added Vaishnav, co-author of the paper. The growing gender gap in voting preferences within the immigrant community constitutes a new divide that did not exist before. [it] is consistent with the broader national trend in the United States.

Trump's tougher stance on illegal and undocumented immigration and highly aggressive populist and nationalist policies could resonate among a segment of Indian American voters, said Sangay Mishra, an associate professor of international relations who specializes in incorporation Immigrant Politics, at Drew University.

This discourse is primarily aimed at white voters, but also extends to minorities, particularly among men.

However, at the same time, Mishra cautions against reading too much into the change reported in the survey. This article reflects dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party, but it does not necessarily mean greater identification with the Republican Party, he said, because within the Indian-American community, Republicans are still associated to the Christian or white nationalist position.

No takers for Indian heritage?

Harris' mother was born in India and emigrated to the United States in 1958 to pursue graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, while his father is black of Jamaican descent. The Democratic candidate has also repeatedly identified as a black woman.

This identification with African-American roots, rather than more openly embracing one's Indian origin, has also repelled some voters from the South Asian community, said Rohit Chopra, a researcher at the Center for South Asia at the University of Stanford. There's actually more enthusiasm for someone like Tulsi Gabbard or Usha Vance than there is for Kamala Harris. [in the Indian American community]he said. In the American mainstream, Harris is seen as an African American.

This strategic decision by his campaign is also driven by the numbers, Chopra added. Indianness does not have the same compromise value [like Black voters]strategically, it's not worth it for them.

According to the new survey, Indian Americans (61%) are less likely to vote for Harris than Black voters (77%), and slightly more likely than Hispanic Americans (58%). However, Harris' support is also down among Black and Latino voters, compared to the norm for the Democratic Party.

Within the Native American community, Harris' position as a more liberal leader appeals to 26 percent of voters, compared to 7 percent who say they are enthusiastic about his Indian heritage. Meanwhile, 12 percent of respondents in the survey said they were less enthusiastic about the Democratic ticket because Harris identifies more with her black roots.

The heat of Gaza

There are other worrying signs for Democrats, too: The number of Indian-Americans who identify as Democrats has fallen to 47% in 2024, a nine-point drop from 2020's 56%.

Meanwhile, 21% identify as Republican, the same as in 2020, while the percentage of Indian-Americans who identify as independent increased from 15% to 26%.

One reason for the shift, experts say, is Israel's war on Gaza, in which more than 43,000 people have been killed, and President Joe Biden's administration's unwavering support for Israel.

Earlier this year, more than 700,000 Americans cast uncommitted ballots in state primaries to signal to Biden, then the Democratic candidate, that he would lose significant support on Election Day on November 5. According to recent polls, Trump narrowly leads Harris among Arab Americans, with a 45% to 43% lead among major demographic groups.

A lot of young people, especially young Indian Americans, are disillusioned with the Democrats' stance on Gaza, said Mishra of Drew University. There is a lot of talk about disengaged voters, or protest voting, to show that people are unhappy with what is happening in Gaza and that this is influencing at least some Indian-Americans.

Sethi, the Washington-based Indian-American lawyer, added that he is convinced that a growing number of young South Asians are voting for a third-party candidate because they are deeply committed to ending the genocide in Gaza and refuse therefore to vote for one or the other. Trump or Harris.

Domestic Foreign Policy Issues

Many immigration experts and political analysts said a slight shift in the Indian-American community toward Trump was also due to his apparent friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist leader.

In a message on the occasion of Diwali, the Indian festival of light, Trump tried Thursday to appeal to the American Hindu vote.

“I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians and other minorities who are attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a state of total chaos,” he said on X. This does not would never have happened under my leadership. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America.

We will also protect Hindu Americans from the anti-religious agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our excellent partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi.

However, Vaishnav, co-author of the article, asserted that it is a fairly common misconception that Indian Americans tend to vote in presidential elections based on their assessment of relations between the United States and India.

Vaishnav added that the latest two surveys, in 2020 and 2024, on community political attitudes reveal that foreign policy may be important to Indian-Americans, but it is not a defining election issue due to 'a bipartisan consensus that the United States and India should grow together.

Instead, voters are motivated more by everyday concerns such as prices, jobs, health care, climate change and reproductive rights, Vaishnav said.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos