Fewer Indian-Americans identify as Democrats despite disapproval of Trump
A survey shows Indian-American Democratic identification fell to 46 per cent in 2026 as more respondents identify as independents.
According to a report by the Times of India, Indian-Americans are showing a shift in political identification despite high disapproval rates for US President Donald Trump. An AP-NORC and AAPI Data survey released on October 19 found that 82 per cent of Indian-American respondents disapprove of Trump's job performance.
The same survey noted that 70 per cent disapproved of his performance on immigration. While 51 per cent of respondents viewed the Democratic Party favourably, four in ten held an unfavourable opinion of the party.
Data from the Carnegie Endowment's 2026 Indian-American Attitudes Survey, conducted between November 2025 and January 2026, shows the share of Indian-American adults identifying as Democrats declined from 52 per cent in 2020 to 46 per cent in 2026. During this period, Republican identification rose from 15 per cent to 19 per cent, while independent identification increased from 23 per cent to 29 per cent.
The Carnegie Endowment described the community as broadly centrist with a left-of-centre tilt. The survey found that 32 per cent of Indian-Americans identified as moderates in 2026, up from 28 per cent in 2024, while the share selecting the label 'liberal' declined from 25 per cent to 21 per cent.
Regarding the upcoming midterms, 92 per cent of Indian-American registered voters said they planned to vote in November. However, 66 per cent of those voters said they always or often felt exhausted when thinking about politics.
