Opinion

 I'm an Indian American, but I'm not a Democrat. Here's why so many of us are.

Surya Gowda, USA TODAY
Sat, November 2, 2024

It’s no secret that this election cycle saw a disproportionate number of Indian Americans rise to political prominence.

First and foremost, there’s Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democratic presidential nominee, as it is well known, was born to a Tamil Indian mother and a Black Jamaican father.

On the Republican side, two individuals of Indian origin, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, ran in the presidential primaries. And lawyer Usha Vance stands to become the second lady if her husband, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and former President Donald Trump win Tuesday's election.

As a woman of Indian heritage myself, this got me thinking about the political priorities of my community as a whole.

Indian Americans clearly lean Democrat

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a White House reception celebrating the Diwali festival of lights on Oct. 28, 2024. The holiday is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists.

On the one hand, we know that Indian Americans are currently a solidly Democratic constituency. According to the Pew Research Center, 68% of Indian American registered voters identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party. They also tend to support liberal positions on contemporary political issues.

For example, the vast majority of Indian Americans polled in 2020 opposed travel bans on citizens from Muslim-majority nations and police using force against peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters.

On the other hand, the Indian diaspora in America lives by many of the ideals upheld by conservatives. The ethnic group has the highest rate of family stability in the nation, and its culture greatly stresses personal responsibility. Indian Americans also constitute an affluent minority group that might be inclined to support conservative fiscal policies, such as tax cuts.

To me, this seeming inconsistency begged the question: Why might a group that appears to be conservative by nature consistently support liberal politicians and policies?

I, of course, had my guesses. Most obviously, I figured that Indian Americans are put off by many Republicans' opposition to immigration, as well as conservative intolerance of minorities.
I wondered why so many of us vote liberal. So I asked.

But I was still left wondering how Indian Americans themselves might make sense of the apparent disconnect between their lifestyles and political affiliations. Did they agree that there was a disconnect at all? Did they make a conscious choice not to preach what they practice?

To find out, I spoke to two close family friends who immigrated to the United States from India in 1979 and have lived in this country ‒ and witnessed all of the political changes it’s undergone ‒ ever since. Their responses taught me a great deal not only about the political allegiances of members of my community but also the reasons why all Americans, ethnic minorities or not, vote the way they do.

The future Vice President Kamala Harris, right, celebrates graduation with former teacher Frances Wilson, left, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, center, in this undated file photo.

At the start of our conversation, I asked pediatric oncologist Narayana Gowda, 73, and his wife, Maitri Gowda, 72, of Florida how they identify politically and whether their party affiliation has changed over the years. We have the same last name because it's common in the region of India where our families are from. Among South Asians, it's also common to call older family friends "uncle" and "aunty."

“Since I became a citizen, I’ve always voted for Democrats,” Uncle said. “This year, however, I had doubts whether I should vote Democrat, vote Republican, or not vote at all because there were certain things I liked about both candidates. But, in the end, I voted for Kamala Harris.”

He joked, "Aunty told me I had to vote for Harris.”

Aunty said that when she considers Trump, she gets scared. She cited the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump’s comments targeting religious and ethnic minorities as reasons for her distaste for the Republican presidential nominee.

I asked her whether she supported Democratic candidates even before Trump’s rise, and she answered, “Yes, I’ve always been a Democrat.”

“We were foreigners when we came here. When I used to watch the television and the Republicans would talk, I used to think, ‘Oh my god, they may change everything.’ ”

Uncle said, “As minorities, we felt more comfortable with the Democratic leadership and their acceptance of people like us.”

I then asked the couple about their perception of the political behavior of Indian Americans generally.

“Among Indians ‒ this is my perception ‒ there are two groups,” he told me. “One group is made up of well-to-do members of the community who are drawn to Republicans because they support lower tax rates. The other group is made up of people who may or may not be well-to-do but who look at the whole picture, including the social issues ‒ they tend to go for Democrats.”

When I inquired about the conservatism of the Indian American community, he stated: “Social conservatism is part of the Indian psyche. We are social conservatives, in how we raise our families, our spending, not being wasteful in our daily life. We are also fiscally conservative, not just for our family but for the nation.”

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris speaks to reporters on Nov. 1, 2024, in Madison, Wis.

So why the consistent support of Democrats?

Uncle paused. “Because we are human. Inconsistencies are natural,” he answered.

Aunty added, “It’s because we are minorities. Indians identify as minorities first and social and fiscal conservatives later.”
I learned today's political climate has an impact on voting

The couple’s answers didn’t surprise me, but their candor did.

I hadn’t expected that they would not only agree with me that Indian Americans are conservative in how they conduct their day-to-day lives but would also concur that their values were incongruent with their own political affiliations.

Our conversation taught me that social identity, rather than moral views or beliefs regarding policy, is often the driving force behind one’s political party affiliation and support of one candidate over another.

More important, their perspectives showed me that although it may seem odd for minorities ‒ or anyone else, for that matter ‒ to back political parties and candidates they may not be in perfect alignment with, they certainly aren’t being duped into voting against their best interests.

They’re simply making a judgment call that in today’s political climate, their identities are being threatened more than their personal values or pocketbooks are.

Surya Gowda is a fact-checking fellow for USA TODAY Opinion.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Indian Americans lean left. Will they vote Harris? I asked