240% Rise in Anti-South Asian Hate Online Spurs Texas Backlash

Online hostility aimed at south Asians climbed 240% between January 2024 and June 2026, according to the Center for the Study of Organized Hate, and Texas Democratic candidate Pooja Sethi says she has felt the surge firsthand, according to The Guardian.

What happened to Pooja Sethi's campaign banner?

Last winter, while canvassing for the Texas house seat in district 47, Sethi was alerted by a staff member to a post on X from Turning Point USA influencer Savanah Hernandez, a Trump supporter known for videos targeting immigrants, the Guardian reports. Hernandez posted a photo of Sethi's campaign banner with the caption "Welcome to politics in Texas," and the post spread quickly online, drawing what Sethi described as vile responses.

"That I called my team and I said I'm going to go home because I need to be with my son. I'm a little scared about what's happening right now," Sethi said, according to the Guardian. The far right also turned her name into a slogan, "Don't Pooja my Texas."

How large is the increase in anti-south Asian rhetoric?

The Center for the Study of Organized Hate's 240% figure covers a roughly two-and-a-half-year span running through June 2026, per the Guardian's reporting. The report attributes the rise to xenophobia and racism, economic resentment that casts south Asians as "invaders" and "job thieves," increased visibility of south Asian candidates in politics, and anti-migrant policy changes, including the Trump administration's annual fee on H-1B visa applications.

Why is Texas described as a focal point?

The Guardian's reporting frames Texas as what experts call "ground zero" for discrimination against south Asians, pointing to Sethi's race as one visible flashpoint in a midterm cycle where south Asian candidates have higher visibility than in past cycles. If elected, Sethi would become the first Asian Democratic woman and the first south Asian woman in the Texas legislature, according to the Guardian.

How are south Asian voters responding?

The backlash has coincided with organizing rather than retreat, the Guardian reports. In October, at the height of election season, about 50 south Asians gathered in Austin for a private community listening session on anti-south Asian hate. Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal attended the event, which was hosted by Indian American Impact, a nonpartisan group that supports south Asian candidates and voter engagement, according to the Guardian.

Speaking to that room, Sethi said she had not anticipated the role combating hate would play in her campaign. "I didn't run to have to sit here and combat anti-Indian hate. I didn't know that this was going to be a thing," she said, per the Guardian.

What comes next for south Asian candidates in Texas?

The Guardian's reporting does not include a response from Hernandez or Turning Point USA to Sethi's account, and the piece does not specify whether other Texas candidates have logged comparable spikes in online targeting. The CSOH figures and the Austin listening session point to a midterm cycle in which organizers say increased visibility for south Asian candidates has been met with both heightened hostility and heightened mobilization, according to the Guardian's full account.