A new survey finds US President Donald Trump has lost a significant chunk of his support among South Asian American voters, with 25% of those who voted for him in the 2024 presidential election planning to vote for the Democratic Party in the crucial November midterm election.Donald Trump used a campaign rally in Mississippi to outline his immigration, crime and election agenda while urging voters to back Republican candidates. (Getty Images via AFP)In addition, 60% of South Asians plan to support the Democratic Party as it battles to wrest control of the House of Representatives and the Senate from Trump’s Republican Party, according to the poll conducted by HIT Strategies. The survey provides a key insight into the likely voting patterns of Indian-Americans, who accounted for roughly 90% of the 800 voters polled.Majority report discriminationAt a time of rising anti-Indian sentiment in the United States, 90% of the voters surveyed said they had faced discrimination or knew someone who had, with almost half having experienced it personally.
Almost 90% of respondents said discrimination against Muslim Americans is at least a moderate problem, alongside 70% for Sikh Americans and 64% of Hindu Americans.Widespread perceived discrimination could lead several South Asian Americans to vote against Trump.Not the first indicatorThe survey’s findings mirror the results of other polls confirming a shift towards the Democratic Party among Indian-American voters. Another survey conducted by AAPI Data in August found that 66% of Indian-Americans plan to vote for the party’s candidates in the House of Representatives and the Senate, with just 18% backing Republican candidates in elections to the former and 22% in elections for the latter.These polls indicate a looming setback for President Trump after a strong showing among Indian-Americans in the 2024 presidential election.
A Carnegie Endowment survey conducted just before the 2024 election found that 32% of the community planned to back Trump as support for the Democrats fell. Support for Trump was more pronounced among Indian-American men, with roughly 40% of those surveyed before the 2024 polls saying that they planned to vote for Trump.
To be sure, Indian-Americans still leaned towards the Democrats in the 2024 election.“Among those who believe that what happens to other South Asian Americans has a lot of impact on them personally, seven in ten are planning to vote for Democrats (71%). A majority of these voters oppose the Trump administration’s ICE enforcement in cities (58%), and they are far more likely to say that discrimination and civil rights are top issues when deciding how they will vote (32%),” the survey finds.Dissatisfaction with the state of the economy and Trump’s decision to launch a war with Iran are cutting into the President’s support among Indian-Americans.
71% of Indian-Americans surveyed disapproved of President Trump’s performance in the first year of his second term, according to a 2026 report by the Carnegie Endowment.Could impact close racesThe HIT Strategies survey argues that opposition to Trump among South Asian Americans could impact close races on November 3.“Michigan is home to roughly 187,000 South Asian residents, and nearly 30,000 registered South Asian voters did not vote in 2022, more than the roughly 19,000 votes that decided the state’s 2024 Senate race. Texas is home to more than 700,000 South Asian residents, and nearly 100,000 registered South Asian voters did not vote in 2022,” the survey finds.“South Asian American voters are paying attention..They want leaders who will bring down the cost of living and protect their healthcare, and they are living through an unprecedented rise in hate.
It comes as no surprise that a quarter of Trump’s 2024 voters in our community plan to vote Democratic. This community can make the margin, and we are working to reach every voter who can,” said Chintan Patel, Executive Director of Indian American Impact, which commissioned the HIT Strategies survey.