By shifting crude sourcing to Russia, absorbing demand destruction, and shielding domestic households from soaring LPG and natural gas costs, India has managed the West Asian oil shock—though at a heavy cost to trade balances and commercial sectors.
The 2028 race for the White House will give new political clout to a long-overlooked constituency: Native American voters.Driving the news: New Mexico now holds an influential early spot as one of the first states to vote in the Democratic primary — on Feb. 15, 2028. That's put Native Americans, who make up about 12% of the state, in position to wield more influence in the presidential race than ever before.In recent Democratic primaries, New Mexico typically has voted late in the season, in June. States that held the earliest primaries had much smaller Native populations.Now potential presidential campaigns are scrambling to adjust to the 2028 lineup, calling Native leaders to learn about Indigenous power players and the dynamics of tribal governments, Democratic operatives tell Axios.Zoom in: Any presidential candidate who wants to win New Mexico is "going to have to listen to tribes," warned Deb Haaland, the former U.S. interior secretary who made history in 2021 when she became the first Native American to head a cabinet agency."We could be a large part in who that nominee is."Native leaders and their allies say that will force presidential candidates to engage closely with tribal governments and pay attention to issues such as tribal sovereignty, land and water rights, and rural infrastructure.Several potential 2028 contenders are already taking notes.Isaac Dakota Casados, a New Mexico Democratic consultant and Navajo Nation member, told us his phone has been ringing off the hook as presidential campaigns-in-waiting look to learn more about Native voters."They're really trying to figure out how the Native American demographic plays into this larger picture," he said. "I think they're used to speaking to Hispanic and Latino populations within their states. This is a very unique variable that's very different to them."Casados said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged to him that he's "really gotta learn" about tribal leadership, while New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was "fascinated" by New Mexico's myriad tribal cultures in a recent conversation.Kalyn Free, a Choctaw Nation citizen who's on the Democratic National Committee's powerful rules and bylaws committee, also said she's been getting outreach from presidential hopefuls and their teams.The jockeying among 2028ers to win Native American voters could help elevate new power brokers in the Indigenous community.Tribal governments will likely be courted for endorsements. Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, is uniquely poised to become a sought-after validator for 2028 candidates in Indian country: She's running for governor of New Mexico this year.Some potential 2028 contenders already appear to be wooing Haaland. She met recently with Booker and is rallying with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this weekend. Pritzker helped raise money for Haaland at an event in New Mexico this month.Haaland told us she talked with Pritzker about her efforts to investigate the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding schools and President Trump's slashing of protections for Native American sacred sites.Asked if she would endorse a candidate in the 2028 primary, Haaland said: "I would wait to see."Zoom out: New Mexico has the nation's third-largest share of people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, and it includes 23 federally recognized tribes.When New Mexico votes in the presidential primary, the race will probably have been narrowed to two or three candidates — giving the state an oversized say in helping pick the party's nominee, Democratic strategists say.Native leaders say their community's voters don't easily map onto the party's progressive-vs.-moderate divide, and stressed that the community isn't a monolith in general elections, either. In the 2016 Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton won some states with significant Native populations, such as New Mexico and Arizona — but Bernie Sanders carried others, such as Alaska and Montana.In 2024's general election, some Native voters across the country — who polls suggested had been hit particularly hard by inflation — shifted toward Trump.What's next: Democrats hope that by putting New Mexico early in the primary lineup, they'll learn how to better win Native Americans and reverse that trend."These votes really matter," said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), noting that Native voters have been the margin of difference for presidential candidates in some battlegrounds. "We credit the Navajo Nation vote to getting Biden over the finish line in Arizona" in 2020.Flashback: This year Native American leaders lobbied the Democratic National Committee to add New Mexico to the early primary calendar.In February, the All Pueblo Council of Governors passed a resolution that said doing so would "transform the relationship between presidential candidates and Pueblo peoples," whereas the old lineup had been "effectively silencing" Native voices.Axios' Russell Contreras contributed reporting.
RBI Rejects Tata Sons’ Plea to Stay Private India’s central bank rejected an application by Tata Sons, the…
Economist Jeffrey Sachs said stronger India-China cooperation could help create a multipolar world, with the two countries potentially becoming the world’s largest economies. He called their relationship crucial for trade, investment, technology and global supply chains.
Supplies from Nayara's Vadinar refinery in India comprised about 70% of Russia's product imports, followed by supplies from South Korea.
BRICS leaders including China, Russia and India entered a second day of talks in New Delhi on Sunday, discussing "inclusive global growth", after reaching rare agreement calling for calm in the Middle East. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for "cooperation" within the bloc, which he has said represents "50 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of global GDP and more than 25 percent of global trade".
RBI rejects group’s appeal against forced listing, setting the stage for what could become India’s biggest IPO
BRICS Summit: Chinese President XI Jinping is landing in New Delhi to take part in BRICS Summit 2026 in New Delhi today. This will be Xi's first visit to India in nearly seven years. Xi will hold bilateral talks with PM Modi in the evening.
Trade between India and China has nearly doubled in five years, leaving New Delhi with a widening deficit and a difficult choice over how to build its industrial future.