At least 25% of South Asian Americans who voted for US President
Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election plan to back Democratic candidates in the November 3 midterm elections, according to a survey by advocacy group Indian American Impact.
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who → vote → Impact
The survey identified the cost of living (65%), healthcare (53%), jobs and wages (33%), and education (28%) as the key issues influencing voters ahead of the midterms.
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survey → identify → midterms
Of the 800 registered South Asian voters surveyed, 87% were Indian-Americans, while the remaining 13% were from Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Bhutanese, Maldivian, Afghani, Khmer and Burmese communities.
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% → register → communities
Among respondents who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, 96% said they planned to vote for a Democratic candidate in the upcoming polls.
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they → vote → polls
The survey found that while 67% of South Asian Americans who voted for Trump continued to support Republicans, 25% planned to vote for Democrats.
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% → find → Democrats
The findings come as early voting has begun in several states, including Texas, where Democratic nominee James Talarico is locked in a tight race against Republican Ken Paxton, who has Trump's backing.
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who → come → backing
Vasant Bhatt, a 21-year-old second-generation Indian-American who interned on Senator Ted Cruz's election campaign in 2024, said in a social media post that he had voted for Talarico.
"
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he → intern → Talarico
I just cast my ballot for James Talarico.
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I → cast → 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.
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Bhatt → disgust → identity
The survey also pointed to widespread concerns about discrimination.
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survey → point → discrimination
As many as 90% of registered voters said they had experienced discrimination or knew someone who had, while 48% said they had personally faced it.
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they → register → it
“It comes as no surprise that a quarter of Trump’s 2024 voters in our community plan to vote Democratic.
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quarter → come → community
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.
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Patel → make → statement
The survey found that 16% of respondents had not voted in any general election since 2020.
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% → find → 2020
It also highlighted a broader sense of disillusionment with elected representatives.
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It → highlight → representatives
While 78% of respondents believed their vote could bring about change, 79% felt elected officials quickly lost touch with ordinary people.
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officials → believe → people
Another 67% said public officials did not care about the views of people like them, while 43% felt they had no say in government decisions.
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they → say → decisions
The findings underscore the potential electoral influence of South Asian American voters, particularly in closely contested states.
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findings → underscore → states
Michigan has around 187,000 South Asian residents.
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Michigan → have → residents
Nearly 30,000 registered South Asian voters did not vote in 2022, exceeding the roughly 19,000-vote margin that decided the state's 2024 Senate race.
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that → register → race
Texas, meanwhile, has more than 700,000 South Asian residents, with nearly 100,000 registered South Asian voters having sat out the 2022 elections.
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voters → have → elections
The Indian-American community also has a significant presence in California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
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community → have → California
In battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina, where electoral contests can be decided by narrow margins, even a shift of one or two percentage points in voter support could influence the outcome.
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shift → decide → outcome
The Aporia
