American Indians lean to the left. Will they vote for Harris? I asked

I learned that American Indians might favor Democratic candidates because the current political climate makes it difficult to become a Republican.

It’s no secret that this election cycle has had a disproportionate number of American Indians rise to political prominence.

First, there’s Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democratic presidential candidate, as is well known, was born in a Tamil Indian Mother and a black Jamaican father.

On the Republican sidetwo individuals of Indian origin, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, ran for president. And attorney Usha Vance will become second lady if her husband, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and former President Donald Trump, wins Tuesday’s election.

As a woman of Indian heritage, this made me think about the political priorities of my community as a whole.

American Indians are clearly democrats

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

For example, the vast most American Indians polled in 2020 opposed travel bans on citizens of Muslim-majority countries 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 espoused by conservatives. The ethnic group has the highest rate of family stability in the nation, and its culture greatly emphasizes personal responsibility. American Indians also constitute a wealthy minority group who might be inclined to support conservative fiscal policies such as tax cuts.

For me, this apparent inconsistency begged the question: Why could a group that appears to be conservative in nature consistently support liberal politicians and policies?

Of course, I had my guesses. Most obviously, I realized that American Indians 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 American Indians themselves could understand the apparent disconnect between their lifestyles and political affiliations. Did they agree there was a disconnect? Have they made a conscious choice not to preach what they practice?

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

Early in 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 since over the years. We have the same last name because it is common in the region of India where our families are from. Among South Asians, it is also common to call older family friends “uncle” and “aunt”.

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

He joked: “My aunt told me I had to vote for Harris.”

The aunt said that when she thinks about Trump, she gets scared. She cited the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and Trump’s comments targeting religious and ethnic minorities as reasons for her distaste for the Republican presidential nominee.

I asked her if she supported Democratic candidates even before the rise of Trump, and she replied, “Yes, I’ve always been a Democrat.”

“We were strangers when we came here. When I was watching TV and the Republicans were talking, I was thinking, “My God, this might change everything.” ”

The 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 perceptions of American Indian political behavior in general.

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

When I asked about the conservatism of the Indian-American community, he stated, “Social conservatism is part of the Indian psyche. We are socially conservative in the way we raise our families, our spending, without being wasteful in our daily lives. We are also fiscally conservative, not just for our family, but for the nation.”

So why the continued support of Democrats?

The uncle paused. “Because we are human. Inconsistencies are natural,” he replied.

The aunt added: “It is because we are minorities. Indians identify themselves as minorities first and social and fiscal conservatives later.”

We learned that today’s political climate has an impact on voting

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

I did not expect that not only would they agree with me that American Indians are conservative in the way they go about their daily lives, but they would also agree that their values are incongruous with their own political affiliations.

Our conversation taught me that social identity, rather than opinions or moral convictions about politics, is often the driving force behind political party affiliation and support for one candidate over another.

More importantly, their insights showed me that while it may seem strange for minorities—or anyone else, for that matter—to support political parties and candidates with whom they may not perfectly align, they are certainly not tricked into voting. against them. best interests.

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

Surya Gowda is a fact-checking guy USA TODAY Opinion.