Harris inspires Indian women to get out the vote

Diwali season is taking on new fervor this year for supporters of Kamala Harris, as the large Indian American population rallies at the possibility of the nation’s first Desi president.

At community gatherings across the Garden State this month, members of the South Asian caucus of the New Jersey’s Democratic State Committee have been pushing voter registration and turnout for the historic vote.

“From a South Asian perspective, this is a moment of pride for us,” said Parul Khemka, the newly appointed co-chair of the caucus.

“When she talks about idli and dosa,” said Khemka, referring to the South Asian foods, “she’s just like one of us.”

Harris’s mother immigrated to the United States from India, and her father from Jamaica. Her ascendancy to the top of the Democratic ticket has galvanized many Indian Americans, both in New Jersey and beyond.

Although there is no state-by-state breakdown of voting, New Jersey’s formidable Indian population leans Democrat. The state is home to many South Asian elected officials, most of whom are Democrats.

Nationally, support for the Democratic ticket jumped 23 points among Indian Americans after Harris became the leading candidate, from 46% for President Joe Biden in May to 69% for Harris in September, according to multiple surveys by APIAVote. That’s notably more than the 18-point increase among Asian Americans overall.

During the same period, support for former President Donald Trump fell four points among Indian Americans, from 29% to 25%, the surveys found. More than three-fourths of Indian American respondents said they had a favorable impression of Harris.

Women in particular reported that Harris’s gender and ethnic identities mattered to them, and much of the organizing happening in the South Asian community as the Nov. 5 election approaches is being led by Desi women.

In New Jersey, that is translating into more Desis of all ages knocking on doors, taking buses to Pennsylvania—a potential linchpin in the presidential race—and writing handwritten postcards to undecided voters.  

“Before, aunties and uncles voted. Now, you see them coming out to local events and volunteering,” said Kinn Badger, co-executive director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

Badger, who is biracial and part Desi, said this is a moment of pride for her. “I never thought in my lifetime I’d ever see a South Asian woman running for president.”

The fact that many community members are attending Diwali festivals presents a prime opportunity to get the word out, Badger said.

On Oct. 7, a coalition of Democratic organizations, including the caucus, held a “Diwali Rally and Canvass” event in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, which is nearly 9% Asian. The event included door knocking and a rally with U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim and Democratic congressional candidate Sue Altman, who is running in that district against Republican Tom Kean Jr.

Lavanya Raghavan, a community organizer in Montclair, said she has personally distributed more than 2,000 postcards to swing states. Her friends have organized postcard-writing cocktail parties.

“It’s been heartening to witness the renewed level of engagement after the very sluggish start to the election year,” Raghavan added.

Gaza, taxes raise concerns

Still, there are policy difference preventing some Desis from fully rallying behind Harris. At a recent banquet for the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Raghavan said she heard many attendees voice support for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate.

Young people are especially struggling with “the horror of American foreign policy,” Raghavan said.

The actions around the Hindu festival of Diwali primarily focus on that part of the community. About one-fourth of South Asians in the United States are Muslim, and their enthusiasm for Harris is more muted, according to former State Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer, who was the first Muslim to become a mayor in New Jersey.

Many Muslims are feeling disconnected this election cycle because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, which have killed more than 42,000 people and injured twice as many, including many women and children. Trump has also expressed support for Israel and especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“For that segment of the South Asian community, it’s a very, very difficult time, and I think that is impacting their connection to this election,” Jaffer said.

When Khemka tables at community events, she said people often ask about the war from an economic standpoint, such as why the Biden administration is spending so much to support Israel.

There are other issues, too. They also express concerns about long-term capital gains taxes. Many Desis own small businesses, she noted, adding, “There is some kind of belief that Trump is going to be great for people that have businesses.”

Illegal immigration also comes up through a monetary lens.

“People say, ‘I don’t have money by the end of the month to buy my groceries, but these people are living in five-star hotels in New York,’” Khemka said, raising what has been a false rumor about immigrant housing.

What she hears less often is concern over how Harris will receive Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a friendly relationship with Trump. Raghavan said that support for the right-wing Modi is more prevalent among newer Indian immigrants, many of whom are not yet able to vote, and older Indian Americans.

Regardless, Khemka said she believes Harris’s Indian background will benefit US-India ties, which are based largely on mutual economic benefits and strategic alliance and thus likely to continue regardless of who wins.

“I tell people, ‘We have to start thinking about what is good for the United States, because if we’re not good here, it doesn’t matter what is happening in other countries,” said Khemka.

She immigrated from India at the age of 21 and said she hasn’t missed an election since becoming a citizen in 2019.

Community split ideologically

Sujana Chandrasekhar, a doctor in Essex County and lifelong Democrat, said Indians in New Jersey are divided along their political beliefs. The community is hardly a monolith, and that is true for how they vote, too.

“We break down less as Indian people and more as whether our overall politics are more Democratic or Republican in general,” she said.

Among her friends and those of her four children, all in their twenties, she said there is a lot of excitement for Harris. It’s not just that Harris is Indian, but the facts that she is biracial, the child of immigrants, and a woman.

Earlier this month, Chandrasekhar attended a luncheon in Trenton hosted by Higher Heights for America, a political organization for Black women that specifically invited her and other Indian Americans to attend in traditional clothing to “show all that Kamala is.”

Chandrasekhar donned a sari.

“The sisterhood is there,” she said. “This is an opportunity for us to get past what may be ailing us and see each other for who we are.”

This story is part of the NJ Decides 2024 Reporting Fellowship, in collaboration with six local and community news organizations and the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. The stories in this collaboration focus on the presidential election from the perspectives of diverse communities in New Jersey.

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