Harris mobilizes South Asian voters, a growing force in key swing states

A drive into Atlanta’s sprawling suburbs takes you past the cultural centers, schools and houses of worship that opened as it became the nation’s sixth-largest metropolitan area. To show the diversity of the growth, stores and brightly lit billboards advertise in Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Hindi. The changes have been dramatic even for the residents who lived through them. “There were a handful of Indians when I was growing up,” said Hemant Ramachandran, an Atlanta attorney who grew up in Gwinnett County, a short drive from Atlanta and the heart of Georgia’s burgeoning Asian American community.

Speed ​​reading

• Kamala Harris encourages South Asian voters, a growing force in key swing states
• Harris visits Georgia for major campaign rally, appealing to diverse and rapidly growing Asian American community
• Harris’ identity as a woman of Indian descent resonates with many Asian American and immigrant households in metro Atlanta
• Indian Americans, now the largest Asian American population group, are a crucial voting bloc in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Michigan
• Harris’ rise comes amid increased political visibility and influence for Indian-Americans, with five members in Congress and notable figures in the GOP
• Despite the enthusiasm, Harris’ identity does not automatically translate into votes due to the diversity within the Asian American community
• Local advocacy and events like the South Asian Women for Harris fundraiser highlight the growing support for Harris
• Polls show that about half of AAPI Americans identify as Democrats, with a significant number of independents
• Economic concerns and border security are key issues for South Asian voters
• Harris’ campaign wants to show that America is a place where people from diverse backgrounds can hold high political office.

The Associated Press has the following story:

Harris mobilizes South Asian voters, a growing force in key swing states

News Releases – JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) —

Some Atlanta suburbs are becoming Asian American

In some parts of Gwinnett, as well as in neighboring Forsyth and Fulton counties, most census tracts and schools are now predominantly Asian American, according to county and Census Bureau data. “It’s grown tremendously since I was a kid. It was definitely not like where I grew up or anywhere else in metro Atlanta,” Ramachandran added. Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Georgia on Tuesday for what her aides are calling the biggest campaign rally since she became the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants will be trying to win the votes of a region where Asian American voters — often particularly Indian American communities — play a crucial role in elections. Harris’ identity as a woman of Indian descent has sparked kitchen-table conversations in many Asian American and immigrant households in metro Atlanta and motivated local advocates. For many in Atlanta’s Indian American community, Harris’ story strikes a unique chord. “The South Asian community here is pretty excited because this is really unprecedented,” said Ashwin Ramaswami, a 24-year-old tech entrepreneur and running for the Senate in a competitive seat that covers much of Atlanta’s affluent northeastern suburbs.

Indian Americans in Politics

Harris’ rise comes at a time of particularly high visibility and influence for Indian Americans in politics. Five Indian Americans serve in Congress. Usha Vance, the wife of Ohio senator and GOP vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, is Indian American, as are two of the highest-profile candidates in the 2024 Republican primary, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was among the first lawmakers to reach out to Harris for her endorsement after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.

Indian Americans now make up the largest population among Asian Americans, according to a recent U.S. Census survey. Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Michigan have relatively large Indian American communities that could prove crucial in a tight race for the White House. The Georgia legislature has seven Asian American lawmakers from both parties. In northern Fulton and Gwinnett counties, high school auditoriums now regularly serve as venues for classical Indian dance recitals. Events such as the Johns Creek International Festival draw thousands of people from across the region.

Emboldened by enthusiasm for the potential vice presidential nomination among the Democratic base, Harris’ campaign has ramped up events in Georgia. The campaign rallied 300 Harris supporters Saturday in Forsyth County, a longtime Republican stronghold that has become increasingly contested as it has grown and diversified.

Does a shared identity mean you get more votes?

It’s certainly true that Harris’ identity as the first Asian American and African American vice president won’t necessarily translate into votes. Indian Americans, and Asian Americans in general, are a very diverse bloc across the board. In conversations with more than a dozen Indian American voters, many said they didn’t know much about the vice president’s track record and found her background interesting but not relevant to the campaign. “I don’t have much perspective (on) Kamala Harris so far,” said Ashish Sahu, a software engineer from Alpharetta, a city of about 65,000 near Atlanta. Sahu said he expected “to hear more about her in a few debates or during her campaign.” He added that most people in his personal life and the broader Atlanta suburban community “are pretty educated and independent and are waiting to see who the best candidate is.”

Ramachandran, the Atlanta attorney, said that “the more representation we have, the more I feel like representation doesn’t matter as much.” He didn’t find that prominent Indian-American politicians focused specifically on their heritage, sometimes taking very different political camps. However, he added that many in the Indian diaspora, like many immigrant communities, “feel a kind of pride, almost reflexively, that comes from people saying, ‘Look, this person is from where I’m from.’”

And he and Harris had at least one experience in common. “The same beach that she used to walk on when she was a kid, I used to walk on when I was a kid visiting my grandparents,” Ramachandran said. A group called South Asian Women for Harris organized a call last week that attracted more than 4,000 women and raised more than $250,000 in about two hours. The call featured celebrity panelists Mindy Kaling and Jayapal. The congresswoman spoke about working with Harris on legislation when Harris was in the Senate, and Harris’ strength in speaking out for reproductive rights.

A country where everything is possible

Call participants were spread across the country, and many expressed enthusiasm for supporting Harris, whether through fundraising or turnout efforts. Panelists urged them to stay involved. Organizers paid tribute to Win with Black Women, which launched a series of calls for support that drew tens of thousands of Black women participants and raised more than $1 million. “A lot of people are very excited. My photo album is full of WhatsApp content right now, all over the place[with]Kamala Harris stuff,” said Tanbir Chowdhury, president of They See Blue New York, a Democratic group that appeals to South Asian voters.

According to an AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll conducted in May, about half of AAPI Americans identify as Democrats, while about a quarter identify as Republican. About a quarter identify as independents or do not identify with a political party. The findings were similar among AAPI adults of South Asian descent. More than half of South Asian American adults had a positive view of Harris in the poll. Chowdhury cautioned that Democrats “still have a lot of work to do with that border security message” among South Asian voters and that issues like cost of living and other economic concerns are at the top of the agenda for South Asian voters.

Ramaswami, the tech entrepreneur whose mother grew up in Besant Nagar, Chennai, India, the same neighborhood as Harris’ mother, said the vice president’s campaign is personally important. He hopes the increased visibility for Indian Americans bodes well for growing political and cultural influence. “It’s nice to know that no matter where you come from, what your background is, where your parents come from, this is a country where absolutely anything is possible if you want to serve the people and do the right thing,” he said.

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