Indian-American Republicans run amid H-1B backlash in GOP
Washington, Oct 12 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA):- At least nine Indian-American Republicans are on the November 3 ballot, led by Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio governor’s race, even as leaders of their own party turn against the H-1B visa programme, a pathway long used by Indian professionals.
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said most H-1B visa holders were being used to replace American workers.
“Unfortunately, what we see with most H-1Bs is that you’re taking somebody, I’m sure in most cases, a decent human being, and they’re using them to replace an American middle class worker,” Vance told reporters.
“We want a lot of other people to come into the United States of America if they have truly elite specialized skills,” he added.
The Trump administration has also imposed a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B petitions, since blocked by a second federal judge, and suspended the employment green card route for eight technology firms.
Ramaswamy’s race against Democrat Amy Acton is rated a toss-up by all three major forecasters, with Acton ahead by 4.6 to 4.8 points in polling averages on Saturday.
In New York, Trump-endorsed Saritha Komatireddy is challenging Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, who led her 52 per cent to 39 per cent in a Siena poll conducted September 11-17.
“I worked for the DEA administrator while Joe Biden was president… I was nominated to be a federal judge by President Trump,” Komatireddy told NY1 in August.
The party has three Indian-American House nominees, all long shots in strongly Democratic seats: Ritesh Tandon against Ro Khanna in California’s 17th District, Nirav Sheth against Pramila Jayapal in Washington’s 7th and Mahesh “Max” Ganorkar against Valerie Foushee in North Carolina’s 4th.
Sheth, born and raised in India, came to the US in 2008 as an engineering student and served in the Marine Corps.
“As an Immigrant, I know that legal immigration not only ensures a successful integration into our great nation but also upholds the values of fairness, opportunity, and diversity that make the US a beacon of hope for those seeking a better life,” Sheth says on his campaign website.
At the state level, Assemblyman Anil Beephan Jr of New York and Tennessee state Representative Sabi “Doc” Kumar are seeking re-election, while Vinaya Singh, a former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist, is challenging a Democratic incumbent in the California Assembly and Ashok Baddi is doing the same in the Michigan House.
The pressure has been sharpest in Texas, the Texas Tribune reported. Governor Greg Abbott froze new H-1B petitions at state agencies and universities in January, and Congressman Brandon Gill has called for a freeze on all legal immigration.
Abbott’s spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told the Texas Tribune that the state “cannot allow a program intended only to supplement the American workforce to be exploited to displace qualified US workers or suppress wages.”
Attorney general candidate Aaron Reitz spoke of an “invasion of un-assimilated and un-assimilable Indians.”
All Indian-American candidates in Frisco’s spring city council and school board elections lost, including Republican Sreekanth Reddy.
“I think a lot of the people who voted for Trump wouldn’t now. It’s been disappointing,” Reddy told the Texas Tribune.
“We’ve talked about this with the Republican Party, saying, don’t alienate us…,” said Vijay Karthik, another Frisco Republican.
Ramaswamy himself has faced online attacks. Far-right commentator Nick Fuentes called him an “anchor baby who got your birthright citizenship from your H-1B parents,” according to the Texas Tribune.
“If you believe in normalizing hatred towards any ethnic group – toward Whites, toward Blacks, towards Hispanics, towards Jews, towards Indians, you have no place in the future of the conservative movement,” Ramaswamy said at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in December 2025, as quoted by The Washington Post.
In an AAPI Data survey in February, 68 per cent of Indian-American voters said Trump had gone too far in restricting legal immigration, the Texas Tribune reported. An AAPI Vote/AAPI Data survey this summer found 74 per cent viewed Trump unfavourably.
The Republican National Committee has opened community centres since 2021 as part of its outreach, including one in Coppell, Texas, opened with a Diwali ceremony.
The first two Indian-American governors, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Nikki Haley of South Carolina, were Republicans. All six current Indian-American members of the House are Democrats.
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