Indian-American Democrats in Triangle motivated by Kamala Harris' presidential bid

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Kamala Harris has the chance to become the first woman to be president and also the first of South Asian descent. Her mother. Shyamala Gopalan, was an immigrant from India. It's a story that resonated with local Indian-American Democrats.

"Presidential ... inspiring ... gutsy ... strong ... simply awesome," - that's how a group of Democratic volunteers at Mona Singh's house in Cary described Harris.

Singh knocked on doors in Wake County for President Joe Biden in 2020 and was even there to greet him at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after the debate. She said she respects his decision to step down, but said that since Harris took the top of the ticket, enthusiasm has skyrocketed.

"You will not believe how many volunteers are telling us they want to be knocking on doors with us," Singh said.

Motivated by issues from healthcare to women's rights, for Indian-Americans in the Triangle it's also a chance for representation.

"Harris' mother came here to study so that kind of reflects on us, we all came here to study as immigrants we value education," Singh said.

Despite growing in population, until recently that hasn't always translated into political power for Indian-Americans.

"When you first come to a nation, I can just speak as the son of immigrants, you kind of just say well I got to focus on my career, focus on my kids, get them educated, and hope they get good jobs, it's just really never thought to go into politics," said Morrisville councilmember Steve Rao.

But that's changing. This year, there are 236,000 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in North Carolina. To put that into perspective, that's three times the margin that decided the last presidential race in the state.

Now, they have a chance to make history.

"Lots of little girls are going to be looking up to her, make them proud."

However, It's not just the Democratic side with south Asian representation. Usha Vance, the wife of Republican VP nominee JD Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants. She gained some support among local delegates to the Republican National Convention.