Usha Chilukuri Vance loves her “carnival” husband, JD Vance. She explained to an enthusiastic audience at the Republican National Convention how her vice presidential candidate adapted to her vegetarian diet and even learned to cook Indian food from her immigrant mother.
The image of her white Christian husband preparing the zingy dishes of her parents’ home state of southern India is atypical for the leaders of a party whose membership is still largely white and Christian. Her presence at the RNC sparked excitement on social media among some Indian-Americans, particularly Hindus, even though most Indian-Americans identify as Democrats.
Yet although Usha Vance spoke about her identity-blending marriage in her just over four-minute speech in Milwaukee last month, she made no mention of her Hindu upbringing or personal faith or her interfaith relationship – biographical details that exposed her to vitriol and hatred online.
While some political analysts say her forceful presence as a Hindu-American still makes the community proud, others question whether the Republican Party is really ready for a Hindu Second Lady.
Usha Vance has been deliberately private about her religion in the run-up to the election and declined to speak to The Associated Press about it. She would not answer questions about whether she is a practicing Hindu, whether she attends Mass with her Catholic husband, an adult convert, or in which faith tradition her three children are being raised.
Usha Vance grew up in San Diego in a Hindu household, the daughter of immigrant parents, both professors. She confirmed that one of her children has an Indian name and that she and JD Vance had both “an Indian and an American wedding.” The two met as students at Yale Law School.
Her Hindu background may appeal to some South Asian voters, which could give her an advantage in swing states with larger South Asian communities, such as Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, said Dheepa Sundaram, a professor of Hindu studies at the University of Denver. Sundaram says that while some Indian and Hindu conservatives would like to embrace Usha Vance, that does not seem to be part of the party’s public strategy.
“To me, her Hindu identity seems more of a liability than an asset,” she said. “It also feels like the campaign wants to have it both ways: Usha may be Hindu, which is great, but we don’t want to talk about it.”
Sundaram said Usha Vance would particularly appeal to Hindu Americans who support the policies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under whom Hindu nationalism has experienced a resurgence.
There are deep divisions in some Indian-American communities over issues such as taxes, education, relations with India and anti-caste discrimination laws, which have gained momentum in Seattle and California. Caste is a distinction between people based on birth or ancestry, and calls to ban such discrimination are growing in the United States.
According to 2022 and 2023 Pew Research Center polls, about 7 in 10 Indian Americans identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while about 3 in 10 identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. AAPI Data/AP-NORC polling from earlier this year found that fewer than 1 in 10 South Asians in America trust the Republican Party more than Democrats on key issues such as abortion, gun policy and climate change, while about half or more trust the Democratic Party more than Republicans.
Still, Usha Vance, “a second lady who looks and talks like us,” could facilitate capture the attention of a voting bloc that has been challenging for Republicans to reach, said Republican Senator and Hindu-American Niraj Antani of Ohio, who is the Senate’s youngest member.
“If Republicans don’t reach out to minority groups, we’re going to lose elections.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, the 39-year-old biotech entrepreneur who ran for president in 2020 and is now supporting the Trump-Vance ticket, made his Hindu faith central to his campaign last year, saying the teachings of Hinduism have much in common with Judeo-Christian values. He declined to comment on Usha Vance’s religious background.
Usha Vance’s silence about her religion and Ramaswamy’s defeat in the primary may indicate that for some of the party’s base, anything other than Christian affiliation may still be a problem, says Karthick Ramakrishnan, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and executive director of AAPI Data.
“Since the convention, we have seen more exclusionary elements within the Republican Party speaking out against Usha and JD Vance,” Ramakrishnan said. “To me, that says there is a political price to pay for being open about your religious identity that is not Christian. There is still a long way to go.”
Antani, a Hindu candidate who has won multiple elections in Ohio, a region that is predominantly Christian and deeply conservative, said, “The racism in the Republican Party comes from racists, not Republicans.” Antani, who celebrated Usha Vance’s speech about her Indian heritage at the RNC, believes Ramaswamy lost not because he is Hindu, but because he was not as well known as the other candidates.
Vance was baptized in 2019 and converted to Catholicism. He and his family now call the church home. The campaign did not answer questions about whether the three children had been baptized. He also spoke about how his wife helped him find his Catholic faith after his spiritual journey was a rollercoaster, as he was raised Protestant and became an atheist in college.
Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, said the fact that Usha Vance inspired her husband on his religious journey to Catholicism was “more Hindu than ever.”
“Hinduism is about finding your own path and getting in touch with your own spirituality,” she said, adding that the definition of a “practicing Hindu” ranges from someone who goes to the temple and performs rituals to someone who is a cultural Hindu who celebrates festivals like Diwali or simply engages in a spiritual practice like meditation.
Usha Vance is an example of the positive contribution of Hindu Americans and her interfaith marriage and her ability to listen to different points of view reflect the teachings of Hinduism, she said.
“Hindu Americans assimilate, but also hold on to what has inspired them from their tradition and culture,” Shukla said. “Our pluralistic background enables us to get along with different people without compromising our identity. Hindu culture copes very well with differences of opinion.”
Shukla said those turning to the Republican Party are responding to anti-Hindu prejudices against Hindu Democrats that their own party cannot counter.
“There is a perception that the Democratic Party does not care about the welfare of Hindu Americans or is deaf to the concerns of the community,” she said, referring to a bill that would add caste as a category in anti-discrimination laws that was proposed and passed in Seattle. A similar bill was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in California.
But Ramakrishnan is not so sure whether Indian-Americans feel welcome in the Republican Party, even if they may agree with conservatives on some issues.
“One of the reasons Indian Americans consistently support Democrats is the rise of Christian conservatism and nationalism,” he said. “That alone makes them less likely to vote Republican or identify as Republican.”
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s partnership with The Conversation US and a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
