Asian Americans win mayorships in Boston, Cincinnati and -- perhaps -- Seattle

From left: Boston's Michelle Wu, Cincinnati's Aftab Pureval and Seattle's Bruce Harrell.

CORRECTION: Earlier versions of this post used a wrong photo of Aftab Pureval.

At a time when Asian Americans are experiencing a wave of hate nationwide, two AAPIs won their races for mayor in Boston and Cincinnati and when all the votes are  counted, a third AAPI mayor may be  named in Seattle.

Boston has its first Asian American mayor. Michelle Wu, 36, made history in so many ways when she was declared the winner of Boston's mayoral contest late Tuesday.

"From every corner of our city, Boston has spoken," Wu said to a crowd of supporters Tuesday night. 

"We are ready to meet this moment. We are ready to become a Boston for everyone. I want to be clear, it wasn't my vision on the ballot, it was ours, together."

In a contest featuring two Democratic women of color -- Wu and City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George -- Boston was going make history no matter who won.

In Cincinnati, Aftab Pureval, 39, may be the first mayor of Indian and Tibetan descent in the U.S. easily winning his contest against Congressman David Mann.

“Tonight, we made history in Cincinnati,” Pureval told a large gathering of supporters. “Cincinnati is a place where no matter what you look like, where you’re from, or how much money you have, if you come here and work hard you can achieve your dreams.”

As of early Wednesday morning, Bruce Harrell, who is Black and Japanese, was leading his opponent to become Seattle's mayor. Harrell had captured 65% of the vote after an initial round of votes were released on Nov. 2, and González had 35% of the vote. With votes still to be counted, the final outcome probably won't be known for several more days.

The AAPI Victory Fund, a Super PAC that mobilizes eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander voters and candidates, endorsed Pureval and Wu (They never heard back from Harrell’s campaign about a meeting). Varun Nikore, AAPI Victory Fund president, called Wu’s and Pureval’s wins “a new day in America at the local level.”

“This is now a newfound path for AAPIs to engage in public service,” Nikore said. “I think it’s going to be a beacon for those who wanna run for local office.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: These are developing stories. Check back later for updates on races across the nation.