CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.— Inside a Harris-Walz campaign office in a Canton Township strip mall on a recent rainy Sunday, volunteers got ready to knock on doors to bring out the vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Among the crowd of about 75, many wore “Desis Decide” T-shirts. There were also bumper stickers that said “LOTUS for POTUS.”
Desi is a term many from the Asian Indian and South Asian diaspora use to describe themselves. The bumper sticker means Kamala for president. Lotus is one of the English translations of the Sanskrit word Kamala. POTUS is the Washington acronym for president of the United States.
The scene in Canton Township reflects how Harris’ Indian roots are energizing at least some of Metro Detroit’s Indian American and South Asian American community, some of whom contended their fast-growing community can help decide the tight presidential election in a swing state like Michigan. They may be right, one local political analyst said.
An estimated 239,250 people of Asian descent live in southeast Michigan, with Asian Indians making up more than 40% of that population, according to analysis of Census Bureau data by the group Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote. That amounts to close to 118,000 eligible voters in various southeast Michigan communities. Nationally, South Asian Americans and Indian Americans lean heavily Democratic, studies have shown.
About 45 people signed up on this rainy day to canvass residents and urge them to vote for Harris. The event was part of a national campaign organized by various Democratic South Asian and Indian American groups who are focusing on battleground states like Michigan to get the vote out.
Among the first-time volunteers in Canton was Nikhil Kothari, 70. The Canton resident has lived in the middle-class suburb in Wayne County for 22 years. About 17% of Canton’s population is of Asian heritage.
“It’s a mix of excitement and worry” that is motivating Kothari to canvass for Harris. “I have been texting and talking to friends; going online” about the election, he said.
Harris’ Indian heritage may be a “little bit of motivation” for Kothari, but it is “more her values,” he said.
“Who knows what’s going to happen if Republicans get in? There is a whole bunch of uncertainties,” Kothari said.
But some caution painting Metro Detroit’s Indian American community with a broad brush in its support for Harris.
One Indian American Republican running for a statewide university board seat said there’s “quiet support” for GOP former President Donald Trump. Others said Trump’s stances on illegal immigration and education resonate with many Indian American voters who fought hard to get green cards.
Still, the nomination of Harris — whose mother was born in Chennai, a major city on the southeastern coast of India, and immigrated to the United States to pursue her doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley — has led to a surge of support among Asian and Pacific Islander American voters, according to a national poll done in September.
Poll showed Harris leading Trump by 38 percentage points, expanding on President Joe Biden’s 15-point lead since the spring, according to the survey of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults. The poll was conducted on behalf of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, APIA Vote and AAPI Data.
The survey, which captured a moment in time when support for Harris was rising in other polls, had Harris ahead of Trump 66%-28%. Another 6% said they supported another candidate or were undecided. The Sept. 3-9 poll conducted by NORC of 1,105 Asian Americans had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.7 percentage points.
Impact in Michigan
The impact of Harris’s nomination on the Indian American and South Asian community nationally has been “pretty incredible,” said Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact, the Washington-based group that was one of the sponsors of the Canton event.
“We have a lot of first-time volunteers now involved,” Patel said. “We have about 800,000 active volunteers right now nationally.”
One first-time canvasser in Canton was Manju Saha, 73, of Troy, who was with her daughter, Kuho Saha, 38, of Detroit. Manju said Harris’ Indian heritage was not a major factor in her political activity.
“It’s because of her values. And because the alternative is very scary,” Saha said.
She and others said they know Trump supporters in their Indian American and South Asian communities.
“I don’t know how sizable it is, but it is there,” Saha said.
‘Quiet support’ for Trump
But one Indian American candidate said the community’s support for Trump is flying under the radar.
There’s a “significant shift” in the communities for Trump, said Sunny Reddy, a Republican candidate for Wayne State University’s Board of Governors. He’s the only Indian American running as a Republican for a political office in Michigan this November, he said.
The businessman, who has lived in Metro Detroit for more than 30 years, said there is much “quiet support” for Trump among Indian Americans.
“People are afraid to publicly to align with President Trump. The reason is they have been attacked verbally” and on social media,” Reddy said.
In the past, there “would be 75% support” for Democrats, he said.
“Today, I think it is coming the other way around,” Reddy said.
He said Trump’s stance on curbing illegal immigration hits home for many Indian immigrants because they often wait years to obtain green cards. Education and rising consumer prices are other factors, he said.
Former state Rep. Padma Kuppa, a Democrat who represented Troy, said “it would be dangerous to paint these communities as monolithic.”
“A lot of the reporting I see is that South Asian Americans are so excited. And I’m like, ‘Hmm, some of the groups I’m in — not so true,’” said Kuppa, who has lived in Metro Detroit for over 25 years.
Kuppa points to Troy, where 26% of the population is of Asian heritage, along with Rochester Hills and Utica, as areas where many South Asians are not “one single issue voters.”
In some cases, Indian Americans view the Republican Party as “more friendly to India,” Kuppa said. In other cases, local races, such as school board elections, influence the enthusiasm of voters. She added “she’s not seeing much movement” toward Trump in the community.
Getting out the vote
State Rep. Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, was on hand at the Sunday canvassing event to remind the crowd that Trump won Michigan in 2016 by 10,704 votes, or two-tenths of a percentage point. That amounted to “less than two voters per precinct,” Puri said.
“There are 100,000 AAPI voters in Michigan,” Puri said. There are sizable Indian American communities in Canton, Farmington Hills and Troy, according to Data Driven Detroit.
“We have enough voters to change the outcome of the election,” Puri said.
In this tight race, relatively small communities could play a big role in the election, said David Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University.
“If Indian Americans or other ethnic groups are coming out to support Kamala Harris, that potentially could be a big deal,” Dulio said. “Small shifts this time around could make a really big difference. I don’t think we are going to know until Election Day when we get reports of voter turnout.”
©2024 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
