By james art - Attorney Maya Harris, sister of Vice President Kamala Harris, attended a Diwali party in Arizona.
- Indian Americans are the second largest immigrant voting bloc in the US and are being actively courted in swing states.
- Voter sentiment in South Asia is slightly changing, with 32% of registered Indian-American voters backing Trump, up from 22% in 2020.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — While campaigning for the Harris-Waltz campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris’ sister, Maya Harris, stopped by a Diwali party in this western swing state to celebrate one of the biggest Hindu festivals, just over a week before election day.
Maya Harris spoke to about 100 supporters about her late mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1958 at the age of 19.
At the time, “it was almost unheard of for a young woman to walk that distance alone,” Harris said, describing her mother as “fierce” and “brave.”
“She came to this country alone (but) she was not alone,” the vice president’s sister said.
Harris visited with Indian Americans in Arizona to try to mobilize this group of voters, who are the second largest immigrant voting bloc in the U.S. With extremely thin margins in this year’s presidential race, both parties are increasingly trying to woo Indian American voters, especially in swing states like Arizona.
What Maya Harris said at the Diwali party
Maya Harris recalled that her mother taught her and her sister an important lesson through lived experiences, a phrase the vice president also used often: “We all have much more in common than what separates us.”
“We may have different experiences, but the thing that really connects us is the desire to be free, to fulfill our God-given potential,” she said. “Kamala is someone who fights for an inclusive democracy where, no matter who you are or where you come from, you have the opportunities you deserve.”
South Asia for Harris Arizona co-director Simi Singh hosted the Diwali gathering Friday night in Scottsdale. The smell of marigold flowers, known to bring good luck and wealth in Hindu culture, filled the courtyard to mark the celebration of good over evil.
“It’s been a hot and tough month,” Singh said in an Instagram post. “I’m not sure how I went from my dream of making sure Vice President Kamala Harris won my home state of Arizona to meeting her sister at my front door. That is the wonder of this movement. Show up and do something,” she said.
Priyanka Kotwal, an attendee, told the Deseret News she felt “moved” by Harris’ words, adding that her mother’s story is relatable to many Indian American families. Everyone in attendance was dressed to the hilt in saris, kurtas and “big smiles,” she said.
The White House is hosting a Diwali party
Singh said in a text message Monday that she was invited to President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s White House Diwali party, a tradition marked by several modern presidencies, including those of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
The White House embraced the Diwali spirit this year with traditional live music, diyas or oil lamps and marigold flowers.
During the broadcast, US Surgeon General Vivek Halleger Murthy became emotional as he spoke about his family who immigrated to the US and persevered through hardships when he was young.
“I know the darkness can feel overwhelming at times, I know that. I felt it myself,” he said. “I’ve also seen people create” in the toughest of times, and that’s the message of Diwali, he said.
Attendees also saw a video message from Sunita “Sunny” Williams, an astronaut from India. She recorded her Diwali greetings while traveling at 17,500 miles per hour on the International Space Station while experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets each day.
In his remarks, Biden praised the Indian Americans in his administration, including Harris and Murthy, both of South Asian descent, who hold their offices. He called Harris “smart,” “tough” and trustworthy,” saying she has more experience than “the other guy,” former President Donald Trump.
Polls show Harris and Trump virtually tied in Arizona and other swing states, and every vote counts. A large majority of Indian Americans were loyal to the Democratic Party, but that is changing, according to the latest Carnegie Endowment for International Peace/YouGov survey.
For starters, 47 percent of respondents identified as Democrats this year, down from 56 percent in 2020, the survey said.
Six in 10 registered Indian American voters say they plan to vote for Harris, while 32 percent say they will vote for Trump, up from 22 percent in 2020. The poll shows inflation is the top concern for those voters.
As the Deseret News previously reported, conservative Indian-Americans often show appreciation for the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which offered tax breaks for businesses and corporations.
Harris’ multiracial identity — she is half Jamaican and half Native American — has often come under scrutiny. As Rupa Subramanya, a writer for The Free Press noted in a post on XHarris often talks about her mother’s story, but never about her own ties to her Indian heritage.
“Her close relatives on her mother’s side flew in from India and joined her on stage the night she ran for president. Her first and middle names are Hindu names, as are her sister (Maya Lakshmi) and niece (Meena, short for Meenakshi),” Subramanya wrote. “However, in this election she seems to have completely disowned her Indian/Hindu heritage and fully embraced her African American heritage, which comes across as profoundly inauthentic. Whatever you think of Trump, he has always been himself.”
The vice president will return to Phoenix on Thursday to hold a rally with the Mexican group Los Tigres del Norte as part of her “When We Vote, We Win” campaign tour. Supporters at her rally in Texas over the weekend heard Beyoncé, and later this week Harris will stand alongside Bruce Springsteen.