Over 70 per cent of Indian-Americans will vote for Biden, says survey

According to an online survey, over 70 per cent of registered Indian-American voters plan to vote for Joe Biden in next month's US presidential election.

Biden's vice-presidential pick Senator Kamala Harris, the first black woman and American of Indian and African descent to get the ticket, has
Biden's vice-presidential pick Senator Kamala Harris, the first black woman and American of Indian and African descent to get the ticket, has "galvanised" the Indian American community in favour of the Democrats, the report said. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@joebiden

The 2020 Indian-American Attitude Survey (IAAS) found that only 22 per cent will vote for Donald Trump.

The data, based on responses from 936 Indian-Americans surveyed online in the first 20 days of September, also says "in line with past studies… members of the community continue to strongly identify with the Democratic Party"; 56 per cent of respondents said they identified as a Democrat, while only 15 per cent saw themselves as Republican.

Indian-Americans also, the report adds, do not consider the US-India relationship to be a big factor in their voting decision – something that is likely to run against President Donald Trump, who has stressed on his close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed "great support from India" in a bid to win over the community.

Biden's vice-presidential pick Senator Kamala Harris, the first black woman and American of Indian and African descent to get the ticket, has "galvanised" the Indian American community in favour of the Democrats, the report said.

The Indian American vote – the second-largest immigrant group in the US – is in the spotlight even though the community represents less than one per cent of registered US voters.

"There is little evidence of a significant evolution in partisan allegiances since 2016. The vast majority (91 per cent) of Indian Americans who voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 plan to support Biden in 2020," the authors said.

The survey also found that although Indian-Americans of all faiths prefer Biden to Trump, support for the Democrat candidate is significantly stronger from Muslims (82 per cent) than Hindus (67 per cent).

Sixty-nine per cent of women and 68 per cent of men intend to vote for the Democrat, while just 19 per cent of women and 24 per cent of men plan to vote for Trump.

The survey was a collaboration between the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and the University of Pennsylvania.