HOUSTON, Texas (Diya TV) — Vasant Bhatt spent the 2024 election cycle campaigning for Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz. This year, the 21-year-old University of Houston student says he voted for Democrat James Talarico in Texas’ Senate race, citing anti-Indian rhetoric and doubts about whether conservatives see Indian Americans as fully American.
Bhatt’s decision drew hostile replies on social media. One account associated with the Waco Young Republicans accused him of putting “a foreign people” ahead of Americans, according to reporting by The Verge. Bhatt said he had grown accustomed to being told to return to India, but that the frequency and intensity of such comments had increased.
His experience reflects a broader dispute over immigration, race and national identity inside conservative politics. Some commentators and candidates have framed Indian immigrants and their U.S.-born children as outsiders or threats to American workers. Indian American voters do not speak with one voice, however, and recent surveys show both dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump and continued uncertainty about party loyalty.
A survey commissioned by Indian American Impact found that about one-quarter of Indian Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 planned to support Democrats in the midterms, according to a report by HuffPost. The survey also identified the cost of living and health care as major concerns. Chintan Patel, the group’s executive director, told HuffPost that some voters felt regret about their 2024 choice.
A separate national survey by AAPI Data and APIAVote found that 66% of Indian American respondents favored Democratic candidates for the Senate, compared with 18% who favored Republicans. The Indian American subgroup answering that question was small—148 respondents—so the results offer a snapshot rather than a precise forecast of how the community will vote. Carnegie Endowment’s 2026 Indian American Attitudes Survey found that 46% identified as Democrats and 19% as Republicans, while roughly seven in 10 disapproved of Trump’s performance. Taken together, the surveys point to Democratic advantages but also show that many Indian American voters remain politically independent or dissatisfied with both parties.
In Texas, debate over belonging has centered on several high-profile episodes. In September, Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted a photo of South Asian students celebrating at a University of Texas football game and wrote that “the problem” was worse than people had imagined. French later said he objected to H-1B visa holders’ children receiving what he described as preferential access to the university. Two students pictured told The Dallas Morning News they were U.S. citizens.
Gov. Greg Abbott said French’s post did not represent his message, but continued to support his candidacy. Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the Senate primary to Ken Paxton, condemned French’s remarks. Former Republican strategist Karl Rove said he would vote for French’s Democratic opponent, according to The Texas Tribune.
The debate has extended beyond Texas. Conservative commentator Christopher Rufo and publisher Jonathan Keeperman discussed Indian immigration and assimilation in an episode titled “The Indian Question.” In a separate dispute over work visas, Vice President JD Vance described H-1B workers as “foreign indentured servants,” drawing criticism from India’s foreign ministry.
Community leaders say such rhetoric can affect how Indian Americans assess political candidates, even when they agree with Republicans on taxes or other issues. But the broader polling suggests their choices also turn on everyday concerns: inflation, health care, jobs and immigration policy.
Violence has added urgency to those concerns, though authorities have not established that political rhetoric caused either incident. In Wyoming, Sikh truck driver Gurvinder Singh survived a stabbing at a rest stop; police said the motive remained unknown. In Illinois, a 19-year-old man faces charges in an alleged plot to attack a Hindu temple near Aurora. Police said a coworker reported his stated plan to target Indian people.
The Texas Senate contest between Paxton and Talarico gives the issue added political visibility, while Indian American communities in states such as Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey may also matter in close races. Their influence will depend on turnout and the competitiveness of local contests.
Bhatt’s vote illustrates one voter’s response to the rhetoric. The surveys suggest some broader movement toward Democrats, but they do not show that Indian American voters have uniformly shifted parties. Cost-of-living concerns, health care, immigration and how candidates address discrimination will all shape their decisions in November.
