92% Indian-Americans Plan To Vote As Majority Back Democrats: Survey

Indian-American voters are leaning toward Democratic candidates ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections, while showing strong interest in voting despite widespread political fatigue, according to a 2026 survey by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) and AAPI Data.

The survey found that 66% of Indian-American voters surveyed would support Democratic candidates in both House and Senate races. In Congressional contests, 18% backed Republicans, while 22% favoured Republican candidates in Senate races. The survey included 242 Indian-American respondents among 2,066 registered Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.

Indian-Americans also reported a high likelihood of voting, with 92% saying they planned to vote in November. Across the wider AAPI electorate, 90% said they intended to vote, up from 84% in the 2022 midterms and 86% in 2018. The survey estimates around 16 million AAPI citizens will be eligible to vote this year.

Economic concerns are prominent. Cost of living and inflation was rated very or extremely important by 87% of Asian Indian respondents, followed by healthcare at 82%, Social Security and Medicare at 80%, and war and foreign policy and public safety at 79% each. Jobs and unemployment and education also ranked highly.

At the same time, outreach from both parties appears limited. Overall, 42% of AAPI voters said Democrats had not contacted them, while 58% said Republicans had not reached out.

The findings align with a separate Carnegie Indian American Attitudes Survey, which found that 71% of Indian-Americans disapproved of Donald Trump's job performance. Only 20% approved of his handling of the India account, while 55% disapproved.

Carnegie also found Democratic identification among Indian-Americans had fallen to 46%, from 52% in 2020, while 19% identified as Republicans and 29% as independents. The figures suggest that although Indian-Americans continue to lean Democratic, the community is not politically uniform.

With AAPI voters increasingly important in closely contested races, their turnout and concerns over affordability, healthcare, foreign policy and governance could become significant factors in determining control of Congress.