It is, after all, such a paradoxical time to be Indian American. There\u2019s been so much praise for the community (with Indian Americans themselves indulging in a good bit of self-praise) that one could be forgiven for thinking they\u2019re a highly favored immigrant minority in Trump 2.0\u2019s America. That\u2019s hardly the case.<\/p>\n
Brown immigrants, including Indian Americans, are a disfavoured minority, as are Black immigrants. Only White immigrants from nations like South Africa seem to be a favored minority today, though even they may be wary given how unpredictable the US has become.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, to touch on the paradox, it\u2019s a good time for politically active non-White Democrats. Think of Zohran Mamdani\u2019s astonishing breakthrough when he became Mayor of New York City. And this month, Abdul El-Sayed won a hotly contested Michigan primary to become the Democratic nominee for a US Senate seat. El-Sayed, an Egyptian American, is a physician like his Indian American wife. With only 35 Senate seats up for grabs in 2026, it\u2019s a crucial race.<\/p>\n
In the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are up for election this November, we\u00a0currently have six Indian Americans. The Senate has none. Seen in this context, the recent Indian American primary losses are sobering indeed. Indian Americans need more representation in Congress, not less.<\/p>\n
That potential addition is Arizona\u2019s 1st congressional district. Emergency Room physician Amish Shah, having won the Democratic primary, has a good chance in his affluent district, but it\u2019s worth remembering that Arizona, while a swing state, has more registered Republicans than Democrats.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ami Bera, who has served in the House since 2013, was edged out by his Republican opponent in California\u2019s open primary. But Bera is in the runoff that will determine the winner. Thankfully, Democrats Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Ro Khanna of California are expected to retain their seats in the House, while Democrat Suhas Subramanyam\u2019s Virginia seat is safe. Newcomers Rakhi Israni, Bushra Amiwala, and Saikat Chakrabarti lost in their Democratic primaries.<\/p>\n
In Illinois, Krishnamoorthi ran for a Senate seat rather than seeking another term in the House, where he has served since 2017. He was defeated in the Senate Democratic primary and is out of Congress. The state governor\u2019s decision to back an opponent was among several reasons for his defeat, and so was the role of progressives, who are intolerant of any compromises that Democrats make with MAGA.<\/p>\n
Krishnamoorthi accepted more than $90,000 from MAGA donors like Shyam Sankar, according to media reports. Sankar is the chief technology officer of Palantir, which works closely with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Another supporter was venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, whose ties to MAGA and Trump are well known.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then there was Krishnamoorthi\u2019s cosy relationship with Modi and Hindu nationalists, some progressives say. He has had both agreements and conflicts with the Modi government. Could Krishnamoorthi have taken a tougher stance to curb the excesses of Hindu nationalism? Definitely.<\/p>\n
Ro Khanna has been more adept at reading the room and responding to the concerns of progressives.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Shri Thanedar\u2014defeated as well in a bruising primary contest\u2014is a true believer who championed Modi and the BJP\u2019s pro-Hindu nationalist agenda. Thanedar\u2019s unconditional support for Bibi Netanyahu\u2019s Israel also put him at odds with progressives and younger Democrats. In July, The Intercept reported that campaign finance filings showed that two-thirds of the money Thanedar raised in the previous quarter came from the pro-Israel group AIPAC.<\/p>\n
Then there was this: Thanedar, who introduced a resolution condemning Hinduphobia, founded a caucus that pointedly left out Muslims and Christians. He seemed to be taking a leaf out of BJP\u2019s own book of division. One can only imagine how Thanedar\u2019s Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain Caucus was received by the Democratic Party, which is, whatever its faults and internal divisions, a big tent that takes pride in being multiracial, multireligious, and multicultural.<\/p>\n
The rise of progressives, whose energy and influence can\u2019t be denied, raises questions about the Democratic Party\u2019s prospects in the midterms. Yes, Trump is unpopular and there isn\u2019t much enthusiasm among Republican voters. But while the Democratic Party has momentum, what about the voters in the middle, especially the independents? Will they turn out in sufficient numbers to vote for a party that they might view as having moved too much to the left?<\/p>\n
To rephrase a line from a famous poem by W. B. Yeats, \u201cWill things fall apart if the centre cannot hold?\u201d<\/p>\n
If passion matters in the primaries, what matters more in the general election is pragmatism. Progressives who won the nomination know, or should know, that economic concerns like affordable healthcare and housing, inflation, and well-paying jobs are uppermost in the minds of voters. Since turnout will be crucial in the midterms, the only battle that matters without alienating moderates is the battle over bread and butter issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n