17 indicted for sex trafficking & exploiting hundreds of Thai 'slaves'

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Clinton's AAPI outreach director resigns

JUST AS the Presidential campaigns are moving into the states that have significant numbers of AAPI voters, the director of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's Asian/American and Pacific Islander outreach efforts is leaving.

Lisa Changadeveja

Lisa Changadeveja's resignation was announced on Saturday, March 19 by Clinton's campaign. She announced her departure via email a day earlier, Changadeveja said she had "tremendous faith in the campaign's commitment and ability to continue engaging our community as we move through the rest of the primary and prepare for the general election" the campaign said in a statement.

"I will be leaving Hillary for America as I have recently accepted a new job at the Colorado Democratic Party," Changadeveja said in the email, Reuters reported.

“She was an instrumental part of helping build our AAPI program and those efforts will continue with events over the next few weeks,” campaign spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said. “The campaign is expected to announce a new Director of AAPI Outreach very soon.”

Changadeveja, a Thai/American, left her position in the campaign to work with the Democratic Party in Colorado. She worked for the Democrats in Colorado for three months in 2014 to improve voter turnout in that state.

AAPI people form about 6 percent of the U.S. population, a figure that does not include people of mixed race, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

They make up nearly 15 percent of the population of California, which holds its nominating contest in June, and around 9 percent of the state of Washington, which holds its Democratic caucus on March 26.

Asian/Americans, along with other minority voters have been breaking for Clinton in the primaries and caucuses that will determine the nominee for the Democratic Party and in some instances such as in South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Nevada and Illinois  proved to be the determining factor in Clinton's victories.

Besides California and Washington, AAPI voters could be critical in New York, Hawaii and New Jersey, all delegate-rich states.

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For more news about Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders, read AsAme News.

Duckworth wins Democratic primary; eyes Illinois' U.S. Senate seat

Daily Herald

Rep. Tammy Duckworth thanks her supporters after winning the Democratic primary March 15.

AS EXPECTED, in the Illinois primary last night (March 15), U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth won 63% of the vote with the balance split between former Chicago Urban League CEO Andrea Zopp and Napoleon Harris, a state senator and former NFL player in the Illinois primary. 

By winning, the 5-term House member Duckworth becomes the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. Her victory sets the stage for a heated contest versus the incumbent, Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk.

The already contentious race between Duckworth and Kirk has been going on informally for months. Democrats see Kirk's seat as very vulnerable as a Senate seat they can turn blue by the popular Duckworth, a Thai/American.

If Duckworth wins in November, she could change the balance in the Senate and break the logjam Republicans have put up against Obama proposals and could be a factor in deciding who could be the next Supreme Court justice.

RELATED: GOP removes tasteless tweet vs. double amputee

Last week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee went after Duckworth tweeting that she "didn't stand up for veterans." The GOP quickly removed the tweet after the committee was heavily criticized. Duckworth, who lost both legs during a combat mission in Iraq, fired back with a long list of the bills she sponsored on behalf of veterans.

Prior to the primary, the GOP was already running TV ads against Duckworth.

Both Kirk and Duckworth have made compelling personal stories part of their campaign. Kirk suffered a near-fatal stroke in 2012, but returned to work in Washington a year later following intense rehabilitation. Duckworth, who grew up poor and attended college with help from federal grants, is the first veteran double amputee to serve in Congress.

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For more news about Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.