Who and where are the voters in Asian America?

ANALYSIS

Political experts  have predicted that Asian American voters  may be the deciding factor in key races and states. Even the staid New York Times weighed in on the subject that Asian American pundits have been saying since 2016 with an article headlined: "Asian Americans could be a key swing votes  of 2024."

Although relatively small in comparison to White, Black and Latino voters, since 2020, Asian American voters have strongly voted for Democrats and the party's moderately progressive agenda.

In 2022, about 14 million Asian Americans were eligible to vote, accounting for 5% of the total US eligible voter population, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew  projects that the number of Asian American eligible voters will rise to about 15 million this November, making them the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S. electorate since 2020. (Eligible voters include people who are at least 18 years old and US citizens through birth or naturalization.)

After being considered an afterthought for so many years, with so much at stake this election cycle, both Democrats and Republicans have been courting Asian American voters.

“There is that level of representation that the Asian American community just has never seen before, and we have seen that bring a lot of new people who maybe historically haven’t been involved, actually into the political process,” Lily Trieu, executive director of Asian Texans for Justice, told Spectrum News. “There definitely has been more excitement amongst new voters, but also amongst young Asian Americans.”

Since 2016, Indian Americans have eked past Chinese Americans to become the largest of the ethnic groups from Asia. 

Obviously, with Kamala Harris, whose mother was an immigrant from India, Democrats have a strong appeal. The party has gone so far as to have separate interest groups -- for South Asians, Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, etc. -- in recognition of the score of ethnicities under the Asian American umbrella.

With no candidate of Asian American descent, the Republicans point to Usha Vance, wife of James David Vance, Trump's pick as his potential vice president. They also trot out Nikki Haley, who challenged Trump for the GOP presidential candidate.

Understandably, since all three prominent women are of Indian descent, there has been a conscious effort to woo Indian American voters since, at first blush, Indian Americans are already politically engaged. 

There are 4.8 million Indian Americans as of 2022, according to the US Census. Almost half, or 2.2 million of them are eligible voters.

That strategy of placing the outreach emphasis on the Indian American community because key players in the campaign are of the same heritage might bemistake, especially if the political parties overlook the other Asian American communities where mthere are substantially more votes.

Chinese Americans, the second largest Asian American community, has 2.7 million  eligible voters and there are another 2.7 million voters in the Filipino American community, according to Pew

There are various reasons for the rapid growth of Indian immigrants and the reduced flow of Chinese immigrants. Even though Chinese Americans have been in the US longer than Indian Americans, immigration policies favoring technical expertise prized by Silicon Valley corporations and anti-Chinese rhetoric amplified during the Trump administration reducing the migration of researchers and students from China, Hong Kong nad Taiwan.

FYI: Read the entire Pew Research Center snapshot of Asian Americans.

There are 24 million Asian Americans as of 2022 or about 7% of the total US population. Under the Asian American designation, there are over 20 ethnic groups and nationalities.The five largest groups of iAsian Americans are, in descending order: Indian Americans, 4.8 million; Chinese Americans, 4.6 million; Filipino Americans, 4.1 million; Vietnamese Americans, 2 million and Korean Americans, 1.8 million.

The Pew Research Center provided some data in regards to the political leanings of these five groups.

Indian Americans

A 68% majority of Indian American registered voters identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, and 29% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Among Asian American registered voters overall, 62% are Democratic or Democratic-leaning and 34% are Republican or lean to the GOP.

About 46% of all Indian Americans – 2.2 million – were eligible to vote in 2022, according to Census Bureau data. This means they were at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen through birth or naturalization. The share of Indian Americans who are eligible to vote is slightly lower than the country’s other large Asian origin groups, in part because they are more likely to be immigrants and may not hold U.S. citizenship.

Chinese Americans

A majority of Chinese American registered voters (56%) identify with or lean to the Democratic Party. Another 39% are Republicans or lean Republican. By comparison, among Asian American registered voters overall, 62% are Democratic or Democratic-leaning and 34% are Republican or lean to the GOP.

As of 2022, about 2.7 million Chinese Americans – or 58% – were eligible to vote, according to Census Bureau data. That means they were at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen through birth or naturalization.

Filipino Americans

Most Filipino American registered voters identify with or lean to the Democratic Party. About two-thirds of Filipino American voters (68%) are Democrats or lean Democratic, while 31% are Republicans or lean Republican. By comparison, among Asian American registered voters overall, 62% identify as or lean Democratic and 34% identify as or lean Republican.

As of 2022, two-thirds of all Filipino Americans – about 2.7 million people – were eligible to vote in the U.S., meaning they were at least 18 years old and citizens either through birth or naturalization, according to Census Bureau data.

Vietnamese Americans

Vietnamese Americans who are registered to vote are somewhat more likely to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. About half (51%) are Republicans or lean Republican, while 42% are Democrats or lean Democratic. Among the six largest Asian origin groups, Vietnamese Americans stand out for leaning Republican. Overall, 34% of Asian American registered voters identify as or lean Republican, and 62% identify as or lean Democratic.

In 2022, nearly 1.4 million Vietnamese Americans (68%) were eligible to vote, according to data from the Census Bureau. That means they were at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen through birth or naturalization.

Korean Americans

Roughly two-thirds of Korean Americans (67%) who are registered to vote identify as or lean Democratic. Another 28% are Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party.

As of 2022, about 1.1 million Korean Americans – or 62% – were eligible to vote, according to data from the Census Bureau. That means they were at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen through birth or naturalization.

Perhaps what is equally important to political strategists of both parties is where Asian American voters could tip the scale in favor of their candidates.

Battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Michigan have large and increasingly politically active Asian  American communities that could help swing the states' electoral votes towards Harris come November 5. Those states, including the red states of Arizona and Georgia, voted for Biden in 2020.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.