How Republicans Lost the South Asians They Won
Trump made significant inroads with the community in 2024. New surveys find that those gains have all but evaporated.
Vasant Bhatt found himself drawn to conservative politics two years ago — right around the time of the 2024 presidential election. “I identified as fiscally conservative and that’s basically what led me to get involved…in interning for Ted Cruz’s reelection campaign,” he told The Juggernaut. But by 2026, he felt that the party he was working for had turned his back on him. “Portraying an entire community as undesirable…and making these sweeping generalizations about Indian immigrants, that was very unsettling to me,” he said.
An October 26 survey found that about 25% of South Asian Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 said they’ll be changing course for the November 3 midterms. And a November 2 survey found that only 19% of Indian Americans planned to support Republicans this midterm season compared to 30% who backed Trump in 2024. Ahead of the midterm elections, The Juggernaut parsed through exclusive data and spoke to analysts and voters to understand why the tide might be turning.