Why Trump is Gaining Ground With Indian American Men
A new survey finds the Republican Party has made significant inroads with U.S.-born, under-40 Indian males.
Indian Americans are the fastest-growing major demographic in the U.S. and the second-largest immigrant community after Mexican Americans. Of 5.2 million Indian Americans, about 2.6 million are eligible voters in 2024. Indian Americans have also voted reliably Democrat — 60% of registered Indian American voters said they would vote for Kamala Harris this election cycle.
But Republicans have been chipping away at this lead in the last four years, a new Carnegie Endowment survey has found. What’s also different in 2024 is how voting patterns have diverged by gender and country of birth. Indian American men under age 40 who were born in the U.S. are significantly more likely to vote for Donald Trump than they were in 2020. If there’s any personification of that, it’s Vivek Ramaswamy, who said in a recent rally: “Let me tell you about my generation. We are lost.”
We asked Indian Americans in politics and delved into the 52-page Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS) to help explain the trend. Their insights might surprise you.