Indian American Leaders in Iowa Say They Feel Abandoned by Nikki Haley

With less than a week to go before the Iowa caucuses, leaders with some of the largest and most active Indian and South Asian American associations in the state say Nikki Haley has missed a major opportunity to run up her margins against her opponents: Engaging Indian American voters.

As one of only a handful of Indian American candidates to ever run for president of the United States and the only woman in the Republican primary field, Ms. Haley has inherently generated interest in the Indian and South Asian American communities, and she has a number of prominent Indian American donors. But like other Republicans who have run in the primary this cycle, she has not aggressively courted voters of color and rarely plays up her identity to draw in new voters.

In interviews, former and current leaders of the Indo American PAC-IA, the Iowa Sikh Association and the Indo American Association of Iowa said they began reaching out to the Haley campaign in the late spring and early summer — back when she was still polling in the single digits and was finding little traction in the state. They had hopes of hosting her at their temples, town hall-style events or house parties.

But as of late Tuesday, no such appearances have materialized. The lack of outreach, several said, has been frustrating and alienating for some their membership.

“It really raises the question: Who are you willing to engage in the dialogue?” Prakash Kopparapu, chairman of the Indo American PAC-IA, which centers on encouraging the political participation and civic engagement of Indian Americans in Iowa. “Do you want the support and do you support the engagement of Indian Americans across the board?”

A spokeswoman for the Haley campaign, Olivia Perez-Cubas, offered only that “Nikki is working to lift up all Americans by making America strong and proud.”

While Ms. Haley has tried to walk a fine line on her identity, she has also faced attacks from her Republican rivals and their allies. On his social media site on Tuesday, former President Donald J. Trump attempted to sow doubt about her U.S. citizenship — an attack that came as polls show her cutting into Mr. Trump’s lead in New Hampshire.

Mr. Trump has participated in fewer events in Iowa compared with his rivals. Mr. Kopparapu’s group is far too small to host him, he said, and they did not pursue the option. Campaign officials with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida offered up a surrogate recently, he said.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also Indian American, has made several appearances at the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of Iowa, where many patrons have met his parents, and he is set to participate in an Indo American PAC-IA event this week. His wife, Apoorva, a surgeon and cancer researcher, has participated in at least three events at the homes of Indian American families and one at a Sikh Temple.

The Republican presidential primary field began as the party’s most racially diverse, featuring six candidates of color, but it has winnowed in recent months. Indian American voters, a small but mighty slice of the American electorate, tend to lean Democratic but have the power to swing elections. The demographic now makes up nearly 20,000 voters in the state, and their participation in the caucuses has been quickly growing.

Himanshu Pathak, who has served as president of the Indo American Association of Iowa, surmised that Ms. Haley perhaps saw the electorate as too small to make a difference. That would be a mistake, he added.

“We are low in numbers — but not that low,” Mr. Pathak said. “And we are increasing day by day.”