Harris Inspires Hope and Skepticism for Georgia’s South Asian Voters

It’s just after 6 a.m. at a mosque in suburban Georgia, and the topic of breakfast discussion is Kamala Harris. “Let’s see what happens, right? The South Asian community knows that they have a really important role and that their turnout, their participation, can swing the election one way or the other. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing voting bloc in Georgia, and South Asians make up the largest percentage of that group, about 86,000 eligible voters in total. Joe Biden won the state by more than 11,000 votes in 2020. “The road to the White House runs right through this state.” Kamala Harris is widely considered the first Democratic presidential nominee of South Asian descent. “I feel a lot of hope right now.” In Fulton County, we’ve found renewed enthusiasm, but there are also some people waiting to see where Harris will stand on these issues. “I’m definitely back in the game. I consider myself an independent. I wasn’t sure if I would have voted before Kamala Harris because I was very unenthusiastic about either candidate.” “But I don’t know if anyone really expected that kind of excitement. As a South Asian, you know, I felt a connection to her. This time, I wanted to be more involved and actually do something other than just vote.” Parul Kapur is now hosting get-togethers with friends as she prepares to host her first fundraiser. When did you hear the news and what was your reaction when you heard it?” “She was a United States senator. Now she’s been vice president for four years. That’s a pretty impressive resume. But deep down, I think someone who looks like me is going to be the next president of the United States.” “That’s so true.” “I think a lot of people, you know, would love to vote for someone like Biden regardless of their fears. And, you know, it feels like they’re going to bite the bullet. Whereas now people feel energized and you want to vote.” And while the group resonated with shared identity, the conversation eventually turned to policy. “And somehow we forget that there’s a middle class for a lot of us. Taxes, inflation, all of those issues are important to us.” “Fundamentally, the economy is where I think this election is ultimately going to come down to.” Back at the mosque, the conversation turned to a specific issue: the war in Gaza. “The Asian American community doesn’t always fit into a nice box on the political spectrum. We all have different identities. I’m a Muslim American. And the way I see the election is a combination of those different factors. Gaza is still the main issue that I’m looking at to see how Kamala Harris will differentiate herself from Biden.” Asian American voters here decided to go for Biden in 2020, but in the four years since, their support for him has declined. These voters could be crucial to Harris winning or losing this state. “She has the potential to change the equation of how things are done for the better. The whole society is changing. I’ve seen it because when I came in, that’s when the change started, right — ’69 to today. It’s what they call the ‘browning of America,’ Asians, Indians. “It’s an open conversation. So I think the Asian American vote, they can be persuaded to shift their allegiance to candidates and parties. I’m pretty confident that I’m going to vote right now, but I’m going to leave a little bit of wiggle room because there’s a lot that can happen.”