Indian-American Candidates Face Pressure From Both Sides Ahead of US Midterms

Indian-American candidates heading into the November 3 US midterm elections are facing challenges from within both major political parties, with Republicans grappling with growing opposition to skilled immigration and Democrats seeing several candidates defeated by progressive challengers in primary contests.

At least nine Indian-American candidates are on the Republican ballot in November, according to community media tallies. They include Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for governor of Ohio, and Saritha Komatireddy, the Republican candidate for New York attorney general, along with three US House nominees and candidates for state legislatures in New York, Tennessee, California and Michigan.

Their campaigns are unfolding amid a tougher Republican stance on skilled immigration, including a proposed $100,000 fee for H-1B visa petitions and the Labour Department’s suspension of PERM green card certifications for eight technology companies. The H-1B programme is widely used by Indian professionals, making the debate particularly significant for the Indian-American community.

Democratic candidates, meanwhile, have faced pressure from the party’s progressive wing.

In Michigan, Representative Shri Thanedar lost the August 4 primary for the 13th Congressional District to state Representative Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist backed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Rashida Tlaib and Justice Democrats. McKinney secured 51.9 per cent of the vote against Thanedar’s 48.1 per cent.

In New York, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar lost the June 23 primary for the 38th Assembly District in Queens to Democratic Socialists of America member David Orkin. He won 58.8 per cent, compared with Rajkumar’s 40.9 per cent. Rajkumar, the first South Asian woman elected to state office in New York, had accused the DSA of conducting a campaign of hate against her.

In Georgia, Rahul Garabadu lost the Democratic runoff for state Senate District 7 to progressive candidate Ruwa Romman on June 16. Romman, endorsed by Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, won 60.1 per cent of the vote to Garabadu’s 39.9 per cent.

However, progressive politics has not proved a disadvantage for every Indian-American Democrat. In Los Angeles, City Councilmember Nithya Raman is challenging Mayor Karen Bass. A Berkeley IGS poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, conducted from September 15 to 20, put Raman ahead of Bass by 39 per cent to 28 per cent. The candidates are scheduled to face each other in the race’s only live televised debate on Tuesday.

In Texas, immigration attorney Pooja Sethi won the March Democratic primary for House District 47 in Austin with approximately 76 per cent of the vote. A victory in November would make her the first Indian American elected to the Texas Legislature.

The contests indicate that Indian-American candidates are increasingly being judged on party ideology, immigration policy, donor relationships and positions on Israel and Gaza, rather than benefiting from ethnic identity alone.

Republican candidates must navigate opposition to an immigration programme central to many Indian-American families, while Democrats face scrutiny from progressives over their political alignments and policy positions.