US Presidential election 2024
New York, Aug 23: Three Indian-Americans have thrown their hat in the ring and joined the crowded field of Republican candidates vying to become the US President in 2024. Their first test, the primary debate in Milwaukee on August 23.
Of the three, Nikki Haley is a seasoned politician who has served in several senior government positions. The two fresh faces are millionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy who has created waves with his “anti-wokism” and Hirsh Vardhan, an engineer who calls himself a “lifelong Republican”.
The US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024 and the Republican Party’s presidential primary will start in January.
Though an Indian-origin American, Kamla Harris, occupies the position of US Vice-President, no Indian-American has yet become its President. Kamla, born to Shyamala Gopalan who immigrated to the US from Chennai, is a Democrat.
Most Indians have traditionally aligned themselves with the Democratic Party’s politics and policies.
How Indian-Americans were inclined towards Democrats was evident from a 2020 survey. It found about 72% of registered Indian-Americans planned to vote for Joe Biden, a Democrat, while 22% favoured the Republican incumbent, Donald Trump.
But this could be changing fast.
When it comes to the Republican Party, Bobby Jindal was the first Indian-American to have entered the race for the US presidency in 2016.
But Bobby Jindal, the former Governor of Louisiana, dropped out in the early stages of the Republican primary, which Donald Trump went on to win, going on to become the President.
The battle for the 2024 US polls looks much more intense with lot many candidates and the Indian-Americans all fired up.
Nikki Haley announced her campaign in February and became the first formal challenger to former President Donald Trump’s election bid.
Nikki Haley was born into a Sikh family in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972. Her name at birth was Nimrata Nikki Randhawa and she converted to Christianity after her marriage to Michael Haley in 1996. She has served as the US ambassador to the United Nations. (Agencies)