Indian American Presidential Supporters Gear Up for ‘Super Tuesday’ Battle

The thus-far unpredictable race to the White House will be conclusively determined next month after the March 1 ‘Super Tuesday’ primary in 13 states, envisaged several Indian-American supporters of Democratic and Republican candidates.

Written by: India West

Updated: February 26, 2016, 12:33 AM IST

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[Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a “Hillblazer” for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, is shown here with Chelsea Clinton at a pre-caucus rally in Las Vegas, Nevada. (photo courtesy of Ajay Jain Bhutoria)]

By Sunita Sohrabji

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The thus-far unpredictable race to the White House will be conclusively determined next month after the March 1 ‘Super Tuesday’ primary in 13 states, envisaged several Indian-American supporters of Democratic and Republican candidates.

“By mid-March, we will have a clear Democratic nominee,” Indian American political activist Saif Khan, a volunteer for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s campaign, toldIndia-West. “After ‘Super Tuesday,’ we will see a significant lead in delegates and the delegate allocation will show who the clear front runner is,” he said.

Clinton won by a razor-thin margin in the first battle of the season – the Iowa caucus – beating her opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, 49.9 percent to 49.6 percent. Sanders then overwhelmingly overtook Clinton in New Hampshire, winning the primary with more than 60 percent of the votes.

In the Nevada caucus Feb. 20, Clinton regained her momentum, garnering 52 percent of the vote. Khan noted that Clinton has engaged a number of constituencies, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinas and labor, groups that are key to winning the Democratic Party’s nomination.

Khan, an Iraq war veteran, is joining “Operation Rolling Victory,” a campaign initiative in which former war veterans come out to support Clinton at various rallies throughout the country.

A total of 453 “super delegates” have pledged to support Clinton, who currently has 503 delegates overall. Sanders has garnered the support of 19 “super delegates” and has won 70 delegates overall.

Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a “Hillblazer” fundraiser for Clinton’s campaign, was in Las Vegas last week to drum up support for the candidate. Bhutoria told India-West that he canvassed door to door and also spoke with many casino workers as to why Clinton was the candidate of choice. At a Feb. 19 rally on the eve of the caucus, the candidate was joined onstage by former President Bill Clinton and actresses America Ferrera and Eva Longoria.

“Hillary will win most of the ‘Super Tuesday’ states,” stated Bhutoria, noting that she will amass enough delegates during the March 1 and March 5 elections so that a Sanders win would be mathematically impossible.

Cypress College political science professor Peter Matthews served as a monitor for Sanders in Las Vegas during the Nevada caucus Feb. 20. He told India-West that the vote totals – which put Sanders just five points behind Clinton – was a victory for the 74-year-old proud socialist, who has been a surprising twist to a race that – less than a year ago – belonged firmly to the former Secretary of State.

Matthews claimed that Clinton’s small margin of win could be attributed to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, who allegedly “pulled out all the stops” to support Clinton. Reid made calls to the Culinary Workers Union – the largest union in Nevada – and asked casino owners to create special places for casino workers to vote, according to Matthews.

Matthews – the author of “Dollar Democracy: With Liberty and Justice For Some” – said Sanders shares many of the ideas he espouses in his book and in his previous bids for elected office. “We’re not giving up,” he said, adding that many new younger voters are boarding the Bernie bandwagon.

Sampat Shivangi, founder of the Indian American Forum for Political Education, told India-West he was disappointed by former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush’s decision to drop out of the race, following the Republican primary Feb. 20 in South Carolina. Bush had fared dismally throughout the battle, trailing far behind Republican contenders Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s endorsement of Rubio definitely impacted Bush’s showing in that state, said Shivangi, noting that Bush had campaigned hard to get Haley’s backing. “She wanted to move with the establishment and Rubio is an establishment candidate,” said Shivangi, adding that Rubio came in second in that state because of Haley’s support.

The long-time Republican Party activist said he thought Trump’s candidacy would be blocked in South Carolina. “Trump is a disgrace to the nation and the party,” he stated, adding he will likely support Rubio. “My conscience will not allow me to vote for Trump.”

Physician Zachariah P. Zachariah, a long-time supporter of the Bush family, told India-West: “I am very disappointed that Governor Bush has decided to get out of the race. I have great admiration for him. He is a fantastic human being.”

Zachariah, also a long-time Republican Party leader, said he was “perplexed” as to how to move forward. “This is a new game. I have no idea what happens next.”

“The extreme right wing of the Republican Party has hijacked the party. Trump is preying upon the angriest of people and dividing the electorate,” said Zachariah in an earlier interview.

But Amar D. Amar, co-founder of Indian Americans For Trump, predicted that his candidate would win the Republican nomination and go on to win the general election. The outlier businessman has blazed through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, garnering 68 delegates. The results of the Feb. 23 Nevada Republican caucus had not been announced asIndia-West went to press.

“Rubio got a big boost from Nikki Haley, but her influence is limited to South Carolina,” said Amar, noting that the endorsement was unlikely to carry much weight in other states.

Amar predicted that Cruz would last longer, but that Trump would emerge as the clear winner by mid-March.

“The Republican establishment thinks they can take this back, but there’s just no way they can do it,” said Amar, noting that when he launched the PAC last month, party leaders would not talk to him. “Now, they’re talking to me,” he said.

This story was originally published on India West.