Dr. Madhavi Reddi
Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at York College of Pennsylvania. She teaches and conducts research on the impact of identity-based media narratives in entertainment, journalistic, and social media. Her work seeks to understand how communication adapts to technological, economic, and societal changes.
Twitter: @madhavi_reddi
Email: mreddi@ycp.edu
U.S. Election 2024
36. The tilted playing field, and a bygone conclusion (Dr David Karpf)
37. Looking forwards and looking back: Competing visions of America in the 2024 presidential campaign (Prof John Rennie Short)
38. Brat went splat: Or the emotional sticky brand won again (Prof Ken Cosgrove)
39. Election 2024: Does money matter anymore? (Prof Cayce Myers)
40. Advertising trends in the 2024 presidential race (Prof Travis N. Ridout, Prof Michael M. Franz, Prof Erika Franklin Fowler)
41. Who won the ground wars? Trump and Harris field office strategies in 2024 (Sean Whyard, Dr Joshua P. Darr)
42. Kamala Harris: Idealisation and persecution (Dr Amy Tatum)
43. Kamala Harris campaign failed to keep Democratic social coalition together (Prof Anup Kumar)
44. Revisiting Indian-American identity in the 2024 U.S. presidential election (Dr Madhavi Reddi)
45. Harris missed an opportunity to sway swing voters by not morally reframing her message (Prof John H. Parmelee)
46. In pursuit of the true populist at the dawn of America’s golden age (Dr Carl Senior)
47. Language and the floor in the 2024 Harris vs Trump televised presidential debate (Dr Sylvia Shaw)
48. Nullifying the noise of a racialized claim: Nonverbal communication and the 2024 Harris-Trump debate (Prof Erik P. Bucy)
49. A pseudo-scientific revolution? The puzzling relationship between science deference and denial (Dr Matt Motta)
50. Amidst recent lows for women congressional candidates, women at the state level thrive (Dr Jordan Butcher)
In my previous U.S. Election Analysis published in 2020, I argued that non-white Democratic political candidates are more likely than their Republican counterparts to highlight their racial identities. This trend was particularly evident when comparing Vice President Kamala Harris’ engagement with her Indian heritage to that of former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. During the 2020 election cycle, Harris was vocal about her Indian roots, reflecting the Democratic Party’s emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism. In contrast, Jindal downplayed his ethnic identity, focusing instead on his Christian faith and tough stance on immigration. While Harris has remained consistent in her approach to her Indian heritage, the 2024 presidential election cycle reveals a shift in how Indian identity is being discussed within the Republican Party. Rising figures like Vivek Ramaswamy and Usha Vance have outwardly embraced their Indian and Hindu backgrounds, framing them as assets to the Republican Party and the nation.
To understand this shift, one must look at the changing political alignment of Indian-Americans. Historically, Indian-Americans have been a reliably Democratic voting bloc. Many saw the Democratic Party as more welcoming to racial minorities and immigrant communities. However, this trend has begun to change since the 2020 election. According to the 2024 Indian American Attitudes survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the percentage of Indian-American voters identifying with the Democratic Party has decreased from 56% in 2020 to 47% in 2024. Meanwhile, the percentage identifying with the Republican Party has risen from 15% to 21%. Additionally, there has been a 9 percentage-point increase in Trump support among Indian Americans between 2020 and 2024.
Among these changing dynamics, a notable finding is the increase in support for Trump among younger, U.S.-born Indian-American men. The survey revealed that support for Trump among Indian-American men under 40 surged from 23% in 2020 to 48% in 2024. This dramatic shift suggests that shared identity with a candidate, which was once thought to drive support, may need to be reevaluated by researchers studying voting patterns. Harris’ case in 2024 reveals an interesting nuance, that shared identity may resonate more for first-generation immigrants than for their U.S.-born counterparts, who navigate a different set of cultural and political dynamics.
When it comes to Harris specifically, previous research has attributed the waning support to factors like anti-Black sentiments within the Indian-American community or fiscally conservative views, given that Indian-Americans are among the highest earning immigrant groups in the U.S. While these are certainly factors, a deeper look suggests that Harris’ engagement with identity politics, which often centers race and gender, may have alienated some Indian-American voters, particularly younger men.
The Juggernaut, a media platform that covers stories on the South Asian diaspora, summarized some of the reasons for the dimming enthusiasm amongst young Indian-American men. These range from Harris’ association with what this demographic perceives as “too liberal” and “woke” policies to the fact that they are simply reluctant to vote for a woman. This is of course not unique to the Indian-American context. The appeal of Trump’s hyper-masculine rhetoric has resonated with a broad demographic of young men who feel threatened by discourse around identity and the idea of a female president. For Indian-American men, many of whom feel marginalized in mainstream American culture, Trump’s embrace of traditional masculinity presents a powerful counter-narrative to the history of emasculated portrayals of South Asian American men in popular media.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 race, represents a new kind of Indian-American politician who has fully embraced his heritage while aligning himself with conservative values. Unlike Bobby Jindal, who distanced himself from his Indian roots during his political career, Ramaswamy frames his Indian and Hindu identity as his distinguishing factor and as central to his personal and political philosophy. In interviews, he highlights how his Hindu upbringing shapes his desire to make American “concepts like faith, and family, and patriotism cool again for the next generation.”
Further, Ramaswamy’s anti-“woke” rhetoric, which challenges the Democratic Party’s approach to race and identity, may have resonated with young Indian-American men who are growing critical of what they view as the over-politicization of race. Ramaswamy’s calls for a return to merit-based systems, self-reliance, and the celebration of individual success reflect the very values that the model minority narrative has historically associated with Indian-Americans. His rhetoric challenges the idea that identity should define political affiliation, positioning himself as someone who embraces his background without being confined by it.This shift raises important questions for the future of the Republican Party. Can the GOP attract the growing Indian-American vote without alienating its traditional base? Ultimately, the increasing number of Indian-Americans, particularly men, identifying with the Republican Party may be part of a broader realignment in U.S. politics — one in which gender may be more determinative of party affiliation than ethnic and cultural identities. In the aftermath of the 2024 election cycle, the Republican Party’s relationship with the Indian-American community will be a key dynamic to track.