Republicans risk losing South Asian voters over anti-Indian rhetoric
WASHINGTON, United States –
asserted
Republicans → risk → rhetoric
Dharminder Dargan used to be an enthusiastic Republican voter.
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Dargan → use → ?
The Indian-American engineer, who lives near Houston, knocked on doors for GOP candidates, planted their signs in his yard and backed Donald Trump.
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who → live → Trump
Dargan, who has been a US citizen and voter for 15 years, said anti-South Asian rhetoric from some Republicans – and what he sees as the party’s silence in response to recent violence, including an attempted mass shooting at a Hindu temple – has pushed him away.
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violence → say → him
“The wind is changing, and I’m very disappointed in the GOP,” said Dargan, who’s in his late 50s.
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who → change → 50s
Across the US, people of South Asian descent say anti-Indian and anti-South Asian hostility that once seemed confined to corners of the internet, is spilling into workplaces, campuses and everyday life.
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that → say → workplaces
In addition to the temple attempt, a Sikh truck driver in Wyoming was beaten and stabbed at a rest stop, while a Montana man faces a felony charge for allegedly telling a person of South Asian descent to “go back to his country”.
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man → beat → country
For immigrants working on H-1B visas, rapidly changing immigration policies have added another layer of concerns.
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policies → work → concerns
Indian Americans account for about 1% of the US population, and are concentrated in key parts of several battleground states, including Texas, Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina, making them an important voting bloc.
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them → account → Texas
In the final days before the midterms, South Asian groups are organising rallies and other events for Democratic candidates.
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groups → organise → candidates
Races in some areas are so tight, that turnout from the Indian community may change the outcomes, rally organisers say.
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organisers → change → outcomes
Voters of South Asian descent have generally backed Democratic candidates, but in narrowing margins over recent years.
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Voters → back → years
Now, Democrats are jumping at the chance to have them back.
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Democrats → jump → them
Among South Asian registered voters, 25% of those who supported Trump in 2024 plan to back Democrats in Congressional midterm races, according to a national poll by Indian American Impact, a progressive nonprofit.
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who → register → Impact
At a Diwali-themed rally on Oct 31, hundreds of people of South Asian descent gathered in the Detroit suburbs to show support for Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic candidate for the US Senate.
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hundreds → theme → Senate
El-Sayed, who is locked in a closely watched race against Republican Mike Rogers, attended two events geared toward South Asian voters that evening.
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who → lock → voters
Michigan’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, and other local politicians lit candles to mark the Hindu festival of lights.
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who → run → lights
The event was co
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event → co → ?
El-Sayed urged the crowd not to be intimidated by what he described as a growing backlash against Indian and Muslim communities.
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he → urge → communities
Other local leaders spoke about rising hate speech and other incidents they say were fuelling discrimination against South Asian people.
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they → speak → people
“I’ve seen a very strong shift in the discourse among the Indian American community,” said Ranjeev Puri, the minority leader of the Michigan House and one of the highest ranking South Asians in US state politics.
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Puri → see → politics
“The political rhetoric is at an all-time low,” he added.
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he → add → low
“As recent as yesterday I was told to go back home.
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I → tell → yesterday
And I quipped back that ‘I was born in Wisconsin, and I don’t know where you want me to go.”
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me → quip → Wisconsin
Experiences like these are galvanising voters around the country.
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Experiences → galvanise → country
In Georgia, Texas and North Carolina, some Indian-American voters who skipped the 2022 midterms are looking for new ways to get involved, said Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact.
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Patel → skip → Impact
At an event in Austin, Texas, attended by about 70 people, many were new to political organising, and wanted to do more than just vote, volunteering to knock on doors or make calls for candidates.
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many → attend → candidates
“We’re seeing more energy because of what is happening,” Patel said.
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Patel → see → energy
In all, 92% of Indian Americans who are registered to vote plan to take part in the midterms, according to a recent poll by APIA Vote and AAPI Data.
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who → register → Vote
And 70% say racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes are “very” or “extremely” important to them, with most saying Democrats are doing a better job of addressing those issues than Republicans.
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Democrats → say → Republicans
Some of the rhetoric has come directly from the Trump administration.
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Some → come → administration
A Department of Homeland Security post on X this fall showed a cyborg warrior staring down a Sikh man and urging him to leave the country.
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warrior → show → country
Trump has also moved to overhaul the H-1B programme, whose beneficiaries are overwhelmingly Indian, claiming it has allowed foreign workers to displace US citizens.
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workers → move → citizens
“Some of the hate itself, the discrimination, is coming from some of the highest reaches in political office,” Patel said.
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Patel → come → office
“Many of our elected leaders (are) stepping up and are calling out this hate and condemning it.
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Many → elect → it
But then we didn’t see that from the president.
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we → see → president
We didn’t see it from the vice president, either.”
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We → see → president
A White House spokeswoman said the X post was referring to a specific Sikh truck driver accused of causing a fatal accident, and added that Trump had condemned violence against Hindus in 2017 and 2024.
“Violence has no place in America,” White House Spokesman Davis Ingle said in an email.
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Ingle → say → email
President Trump is Making America Great Again for Americans of every race, religion, colour, and creed.”
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America → make → race
Still, the bigotry has surfaced in this year’s elections.
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bigotry → surface → elections
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
