Washington: US President Barack Obama, who has the distinction of appointing the largest number of Indian-Americans in any presidential administration, has the highest approval rating in the community among Asian- Americans.
Among all Asian-American ethnic communities, Obama has the highest (84 per cent) job approval ratings among Indian- Americans and has the lowest (56 per cent) among Chinese- Americans. This is also reflected in the support that Indian- Americans give to Obama’s Democratic party.
According to a report commissioned by non-partisan Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups, the Republican Party has a high (58 per cent) unfavourability rating among Indian-Americans, while it is just 19 per cent for the Democratic party.
According to the report released yesterday, Obama has a low nine per cent unfavourability rating among Indian- Americans while for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, it is high 62 per cent.
On the other hand, the two Democratic party’s presidential candidates — Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders — are equally popular among Indian Americans. Both have a favourability of 63 and 64 per cent respectively. For the 42 per cent of the registered Indian-American voters, Clinton is the first choice, followed by Sanders with 30 per cent. Only seven per cent of the Indian-Americans want Trump as the president.
This is probably because of a strong reaction by Indian-Americans against his anti-Muslim rhetoric. As many as 59 per cent of the Indian-American registered voters said they would support someone else.
The report said 55 per cent of registered Indian-American voters said they were Democrats, while only 15 per cent said they were Republicans with 37 per cent independent. Majority of Indian-Americans (67 per cent) said they prefer to vote on the election day, while 14 per cent do early voting.
During the primary season, as many as 40 per cent Indian-Americans voted for Clinton, and 30 per cent to Sanders.
Only eight per cent Indian Americans voted for Trump during the primary season. When asked which presidential candidate they would vote for during November presidential elections, 44 per cent said Clinton, 31 per cent opted for Sanders and just six per cent said they will vote for Trump.
The report has been prepared by Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Asian American Advancing Justice and AAPI Data.
PTI