A scene from the Democrats' "Our America" ad geared towards Asian American voters. |
With the Presidential race too close to call and Election Day only a week away, Democrats and Republicans are making every effort to find voters, especially Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island voters. As a result, engagement of AANHPI voters are as high as its ever been.
AANHPI voters could play a major role in determining the outcome in some battleground states, including Michigan, Georgia and Nevada.
Trump and his campaign held his first event in Las Vegas zeroing in on Asian American voters in Nevada with a rally at the UNLV Thomas & Mack Center. The Oct. 24 event included notable Asian American s that included former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is Indian American, and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Samoan American.
Besides the unapologetic use of the racist "China virus" wording when referring to COVID19, the only AANHPI specific comment Trump had to say was to compliment Filipinos' fashion sense.
“[Filipinos] had the most beautiful clothing,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Where the hell do all these people come from?’ And when they told me, that’s why I put that little paragraph in there … you are the greatest people, hardest working, and we’re gonna take care of you. You’re gonna take care of us! What great spirit.”
He doubled down on his promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants even though surveys have found that the AANHPI community prefers finding legal pathways to citizenship for immigrants, some living in the United States for decades.
Michael Kagan, executive director of UNLV’s Immigration Clinic, says that would be a particular threat to Nevada.
FYI: Who are AANHPI voters favoring?There are nearly 190,000 undocumented immigrants in Nevada, 84% of whom have been in the US for more than five years, according to the Pew Research Center. About 1 in 10 Nevada households include an undocumented immigrant.
Filipinos make up the largest subgroup in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community in Nevada. All together, the AANHIPI make up 12% of the state's voting population, or about 266,000 votes, according to AAPI Data.
Democrats continue their months-long effort in increasing outreach to the AANHPI communities that included town halls with Asian Americans, interviews on AANHPI media and the effective series of ads appearing on all media aimed at the AANHPI communities.
“The choice for Asian American voters in this election couldn’t be clearer. While Trump surrounds himself with loyalists to emulate the dictators he admires and intends to wield unchecked power to serve himself, Vice President Kamala Harris has only ever had one client: the people,” said Harris-Walz 2024 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander spokesperson Andrew Peng.
“This November, we have the power to protect our freedoms and elect a president who believes in the aspirations of our communities – and will never view us as ‘other,’” says Peng.
Gwen Walz urged members of the Sikh community in Mihcigan to vote. |
She was joined by US Representatives Debbie Dingell and Pramila Jayapal and Michigan state Representative Ranjeev Puri, the first Sikh American ever elected to the Michigan legislature.
There are more than 220,000 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in Michigan, making the Sikh community a key electorate to engage with.
Asian American Georgians, such as Gwinnett County residents Neetu Kumar and Sujatha Thota, volunteered at a recent phone banking event for supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris. |
There are nearly 239,000 registered voters in Georgia who are of Asian American descent. That’s about 20 times the margin by which President Biden captured the state fin 2020. Indian American voters make up the largest block with over 177,000 eligible voters, according to AAPI Data.
“Our numbers are still small, but we could be the deciding factor in terms of margin of victory,” said James Woo of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in an interview with CNN. . “We always mention that to our community members who see the difference every single vote can make.”