Who will get the Indian American votes?
September 15, 2020 19:46
Kamala Harris
If you've wondered why both US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden have been making a strong pitch for the Indian American community in the presidential elections, Deepak Raj and Neil Makhija offer a clue in their article in nj.com.
'Indian Americans register and vote at high rates. There are projected to be 1.4 million Indian American voters in this year's election. More important, their numbers are growing in critical states,' they write.
'According to data from APIA Vote, which works to increase political participation among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, there will be an increase of roughly 12% in eligible Indian American voters in swing states from 2018 to this year. This year, the group says, there will be 193,000 eligible Indian American voters in Florida (where Donald Trump won in 2016 by 113,000), 156,000 in Pennsylvania (Trump by 44,000), 150,000 in Georgia (Trump by 211,000), and 125,000 in Michigan (Trump by 11,000).'
While in the 2016 election, '77% of Indian Americans voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton,' they point out, 'Trump thinks he can persuade Indian Americans to vote Republican this fall. His reelection campaign has been running social media ads targeting Indian voters, praising Indian Americans as business and technology leaders and touting Trump's budget-busting tax cuts.'
However, 'Indian Americans, largely recent immigrants and their families, with a globalized outlook and commitment to social justice, are more sympathetic to Democratic positions.'
And if that was not enough, 'Seeing Kamala Harris, a fellow Indian American, on the ticket will cement that alliance,' they write, here.
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