While the Presidential election sucked all the media attention, a new generation of mostly young Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders began their political careers at the state level, building up a bench of up-and-coming AAPI lawmakers.
Among this year's group of AAPI lawmakers -- all Democrats -- who won seats in state legislatures also made history with some "Firsts.' Among their ranks are:
- The youngest AAPI legislator in California;
- The first South Asians in New York's state legislature;
- Hawaii picked its first openly LGBTQ lawmaker;
- Wisconsin elected its first Asian American to its state legislature;
- Pennsylvania will have its first South Asian in the state Senate;
- The first woman of color to serve in the Vermont Senate;
- Georgia picked its first Filipino American immigrant to the legislature.
Local political races, from city councils and school boards to state legislatures is where the next generation of politicians will learn the ins-and-outs of politicking and hone their political muscles for the next level of law making.
The increasing willingness to dive into politics is a testament to the growing political awareness of the AAPI community. Several sources say that turnout among AAPI voters increased 300% among early voters alone. In some swing states such as Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, AAPI voters proved to be crucial.
AAPI Data points out that 158 Asian Americans were running for legislatures in 30 states, an increase of 21 Asian American state legislature candidates since the 2018 midterms.
Out of the 158 candidates, 75% (117) are Democrats and 25% (39) are Republicans, a reflection of a national trend moving the AAPI political views to left of center, according to AAPI Data.
Following are some of the new lawmakers who made history at the state level:
* * *
 |
| Alex Lee, the youngest member of the California legislature. |
The district, which encompasses Fremont, Santa Clara, San Jose, Milpitas and Newark, and straddles the East Bay and Silicon Valley, is one of the heaviest Asian state legislative districts in the state.
“It’s incredibly exhilarating because our campaign was really the underdog, and we were outspent 15 to 1,” Lee told NBC Asian America. “The establishment didn’t support us, but after we knocked on 30,000 doors, it paid off and we had a great victory.”
* * *
 |
| Zohran Mamdani, left, and Jenifer Rajkumar |
Two Indian Americans were elected to the New York state Assembly on Tuesday — making them the first South Asians voted into the lower house of the state Legislature.
Both Jenifer Rajkumar and Zohran Mamdani are Democrats representing parts of Queens, New York City.
Mamdani, 29, who will represent Astoria, a multiethnic neighborhood in Queens, beat incumbent Aravella Simotas in the Democratic primary this year and faced no Republican opponent in the general election. Rajkumar, 38, who will represent parts of Queens that are largely made up of immigrants, won her primary in the state election cycle and defeated Republican Giovanni Perna on Tuesday.
 |
| Hawaii's Adrian Tam beat a Proud Boy member. |
Progressive Democrat Adrian Tam won the race for Hawaii’s District 22, becoming the first openly LGBTQ elected official in the state legislature, reported political action committee Victory Fund.
Tam, the son of immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Taiwan, defeated Republican Nick Ochs, who leads the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right, neo-fascist and anti-LGBTQ paramilitary group. Tam garnered over 63% of the vote while Ochs took less than 30%, according to KITV.
* * *
 |
| Chef Francesca Hong hopes to cook up new laws for small laws. |
Chef and restaurant owner Francesca Hong is the first Asian American to be elected as a representative for Wisconsin’s state legislature, Wisconsin State Journal reports.
According to Madison365, election results from Dane County report that Hong won in a landslide, receiving 88% of the total votes, beating Republican candidate Patrick Hull for the 76th Assembly District seat.
Born and raised in Wsiconsin and the daughter of immigrants, she ran a campaign focused on racial justice.
“We must strive to help working class individuals and families to improve conditions in housing, public education, job security and wealth building,” she said. “We must invest in our main streets, taking the lead from independent small business owners, to work towards more equitable economic infrastructure. But above all, we must prioritize racial equity and work to invest in communities that have been defunded and decimated by irresponsible and apathetic GOP leadership.”
* * *
Nikil Saval, 37, became the first South Asian American elected to Pennsylvania’s state Senate Nov. 3.
Elected to represent Philadelphia’s diverse District 1, Saval was co-editor-in-chief of the literary magazine n+1. From 2012-19, he helped lead the Brooklyn-based publication, prioritizing coverage of issues like social justice and labor unions. He also wrote about architecture, urban planning and design as a contributor at The New York Times and the New Yorker.“I do think working at n+1 and writing about culture and politics intellectually helped give me clarity on how to think about these subjects together,” Saval told NBC News.
Saval, whose parents emigrated from Bangalore, India,, talked about what his victory means for Asian American representation.
“I feel the significance of that especially when I walk into a room with a number of white people in it, which is Pennsylvania’s state Senate, for the most part,” he said. “Even more so, it’s when I encounter other Asian Americans who get pleasantly shocked that I won. There’s a pan-Asian solidarity that immediately develops.”
* * *
Marvin Lim's win was the result of the changing demographics of Georgia, especially the growth of the Asian American population.
Lim is the first Filipino American to be elected to the state legislature in the Nov. 3 elections. Lim won the primary with 62% of the vote and since the GOP didn't have a candidate to run against him.
The Philippine-born Lim, 36, will represent House District 99, an Atlanta suburb comprised of 85% minorities, 53% of whom are immigrants.
 |
| Kesha Ram won in Vermont, a predominantly white state. |
Democrat Kesha Ram, the daughter of an Indian immigrant father and a Jewish mother, made history Nov. 3 when she became the first woman of color to be elected to the Vermont Senate in a state that’s more than 94 percent white.
Throughout her campaign, Ram focused on a racial justice platform that included addressing disparities in access to health care, climate justice and support for criminal justice reform.
This is not her first foray into politics. At the age of 22, she became Vermont's youngest state legislature when she was elected to the state's House.
She hopes her win inspires other people of color to get involved in the political process.
“Particularly for young Asian American women, I think that we are really taught culturally and socially not to fail. And that it's a personal shortcoming if you fail,” she said. “That's just simply not true.” Ram knows this firsthand, as her 2016 run for lieutenant governor ended in her finishing third. “We can't live safe lives the way everybody wants us to if we want things to change,” she said. “Because, otherwise we won't change who's at the table.”
.
No comments:
Post a Comment