First-time Congressional candidate in Washington on the verge of making history; Jayapal easy winner

MARILY STRICKLAND

Korean American Marilyn Strickland was leading with 21.4% of the vote in the race for Washington state’s District 10 Congressional seat. Trailing Strickland in Tuesday's Primary election results is fellow Democrat Beth Doglio with14.4%. In Washington's primary, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will move on to the general election on Nov. 3.

If Strickland, the former mayor of Tacoma, wins in November, she would make history by becoming the first Korean American woman to win a seat in Congress.

On Twitter, STrickland praised her rivals for taking part in the race.

District 10's Rep. Denny Heck, a Democrat, left his seat open when he decided to run for Washington's Lieutenant Governor. 

Elsewhere in Washington, incumbent Rep. Pramila Jayapal, running for her 3rd term, handily won her contest for the 7th District with over 80% of the vote. She is expected to win the November election against the second place winner Republican Craig Keller, who garnered 8.2% of the voter.

EDITORS NOTE: Updated Aug. 5, 10:30 a.m.

AALDEF Poll: Asian American voters favor Democrats, Biden, gun control

Asian American voters overwhelmingly favored Democratic candidates in Tuesday's election, according to exit polling by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). 

Unlike national surveys where Kamala Harris polls better than Andrew Yang, Asian American voters favored Yang over Harris.

The survey also found that the AsAm voters supported stricter gun control laws in the three states the polling took place, Virginia, Texas and Pennsylvania.

“The Asian American Exit Poll provides an important snapshot of the growing Asian American electorate, including their party affiliations and issues influencing their votes in key races," says AALDEF executive director Margaret Fung

"In 2019, Asian American voters were part of the unusually high turnout in Virginia that consolidated Democratic control of the state legislature.”

In the Nov. 5 elections, Democrats picked up two seats in the Virginia State Senate and six seats in the House of Delegates, winning majority control of both houses of the Virginia General Assembly– the first time since 1994.

When asked how they would vote if the presidential election were held on Tuesday, Asian American 26% of the voters polled favored Joe Biden, 20% would have voted for Elizabeth Warren, as their top two Democratic choices for president.

A surprise outcome of the poll was that among Virginia's AsAm voters, 8% would have voted for entrepreneur Andrew Yang and only 3% would have voted for California's Sen. Kamala Harris. The results in Texas and Pennsylvania were similar indicating that Harris, although Indian American, hasn't made a strong impression on the Asian American electorate.

AALDEF dispatched attorneys, law students, and community volunteers to seven cities in five states to monitor voter problems on Election Day and to conduct a nonpartisan Asian American exit poll in English and three Asian languages. Asian Americans were polled in Fairfax County and Arlington County in Virginia; Houston, Texas; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

AALDEF also sent observers to check on voter problems and the availability of language assistance at poll sites during the early voting period in New York City, Boston, and Malden, Massachusetts. The 2019 elections marked the first time in state history that New Yorkers had the option to vote early.

AALDEF will also conduct an exit poll for the Louisiana gubernatorial election on Saturday, November 16, 2019.

The following is a preliminary breakdown of AALDEF exit poll results by state:

Virginia:

Party Affiliation

Democrat: 51%, Republican: 10%, Not Enrolled: 38%, Other Party: 2

Vote for House of Delegates:

Democratic Candidate: 80%, Republican Candidate: 16%, Other: 1%, Did Not Vote: 3%

Vote for State Senate:

Democratic Candidate: 81%, Republican Candidate: 15%, Did Not Vote: 4%

Vote for President if Election Were Today:

Joe Biden: 26%, Elizabeth Warren: 20%, Bernie Sanders: 15%, Donald Trump: 13%, Andrew Yang: 8%, Other Democrat: 7%, Other Party/Independent: 6%, Pete Buttigieg: 4%, Other Republican: 3%, Kamala Harris: 3%, Cory Booker: 0.4%, Beto O’Rourke: 0.4%

In general, do you support stricter gun control laws?

Strongly Support: 71%, Support: 20%, Don’t Know: 3%, Oppose: 3%, Strongly Oppose: 3%

Do you believe the U.S. House of Representatives should proceed with an impeachment inquiry of President Trump?

Yes: 64%, No: 17%, Don’t Know: 19%

Do you support legislation that would get Virginia to 100% renewable energy by 2050?

Yes: 82%, No: 4%, Don’t Know: 13%

Houston, Texas:

Party Affiliation

Democrat: 33%, Republican: 30%, Not Enrolled: 36%, Other Party: 2%

Vote for Mayor:

Sylvester Turner: 36%, Tony Buzbee: 35%, Bill King: 15%, Other Candidate: 10%, Sue Lovell: 2%, Dwight Boykins: 1%

Vote for President if Election Were Today:

Donald Trump: 38%, Joe Biden: 15%, Elizabeth Warren: 12%, Andrew Yang: 9%, Other Republican: 6%, Bernie Sanders: 4%, Pete Buttigieg: 4%, Beto O’Rourke: 4%, Kamala Harris: 2%, Other Democrat: 2%, Other Party/Independent: 2%, Cory Booker: 1%,

In general, do you support stricter gun control laws?

Strongly Support: 58%, Support: 24%, Don’t Know: 7%, Oppose: 5%, Strongly Oppose: 6%

Do you believe the U.S. House of Representatives should proceed with an impeachment inquiry of President Trump?

Yes: 41%, No: 41%, Don’t Know: 18%

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Party Affiliation

Democrat: 65%, Republican: 6%, Not Enrolled: 27%, Other Party: 2%

Vote for Mayor:

James Kenney: 74%, Billy Ciancaglini: 3%, Other Candidate: 11%, Did Not Vote: 11%

Vote for City Council at-large:

David Oh: 22%, Helen Gym: 18%, Allan Domb: 16%, Isaiah Thomas: 12%, Derek Green: 11%, Katherine Richardson: 10%, Other Candidate: 4%, Al Taubenberger: 2%, Daniel Tinney: 2%, Bill Heeney: 1%, Matt Wolfe: 1%

Vote for President if Election Were Today:

Joe Biden: 24%, Elizabeth Warren: 19%, Andrew Yang: 14%, Bernie Sanders: 12%, Pete Buttigieg: 10%, Donald Trump: 10%, Other Republican: 5%, Kamala Harris: 3%, Other Democrat: 2%, Other Party/Independent: 2%, Cory Booker: 0%, Beto O’Rourke: 0%

In general, do you support stricter gun control laws?

Strongly Support: 80%, Support: 13%, Don’t Know: 4%, Oppose: 1%, Strongly Oppose: 1%

Do you believe the U.S. House of Representatives should proceed with an impeachment inquiry of President Trump?

Yes: 68%, No: 7%, Don’t Know: 25%

Asian American voters also faced barriers on Election Day, including denial of provisional ballots and access to language assistance, machine breakdowns, being directed to incorrect poll sites, and improper demands for proof of identification and citizenship when it was not required.

“In all three states, a large percentage of the Asian American voters polled were not enrolled in a political party," says AALDEF Democracy Program Director Jerry Vattamala. 

"Asian Americans, now the nation’s fastest growing racial minority group, are registering to vote in larger numbers and could play a critical role in determining electoral outcomes in 2020.”

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Will Asian American voters turn deep-red Texas to purple?

At a recent meeting of Texas' Tarrant County Democratic Party group representing Asian Americans, the packed room in a Vietnamese restaurant broke into whoops and hollers, a hallmark of Texas celebrations.
“This is the fastest-growing community in Tarrant County,” said Aftab Siddiqui, its co-chair, to whoops from the audience packed into the small Vietnamese restaurant. “And also the state.”

But aided by both rapid demographic shifts and a backlash to Donald Trump's racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies, the suburbs around Forth Worth and other Texas cities are growing more racially diverse and the newcomers -- particularly Asian Americans -- tend to vote for Democrats. 

In 2018, Democrats flipped two congressional seats in Texas. Now, they're eyeing at least six more GOP-held districts that may be vulnerable, including the 22nd District, which is anchored in Fort Bend County, along with parts of Harris and Brazoria counties.

The Asian American Pacific Islanders Committee was established a month ago, the latest sign of how Democrats believe a changing population might help them end the Republicans’ 30-year hold on Texas. The state’s Hispanic population is expected to surpass the number of white residents in 2022.

At the same time, an influx of Asian Americans is providing organizers like Siddiqui, who arrived from Pakistan in the 1990s, with hope that an influx of new voters can make a decisive difference. According to 2016 presidential election exit polling, 72% of Asian Americans in Texas voted for Hillary Clinton, compared to 26% who backed Donald Trump.

The Asian population is the fastest-growing group in the state, according to the US Census Bureau, which estimates that it grew 42% between 2010 and 2017.

At about 1.2 million people, it is still a small minority among a total population of a little more than 28 million, but Siddiqui said many were newly energized.

Sri Kulkarni, left, and Gina Ortiz Jones are running for Congress in Texas.

This is good news for Asian American candidates Gina Ortiz Jones running to represent the sprawling 23rd Congressional District and Sri Kulkarni in the 22nd District in the suburbs of Houston.

Ortiz Jones, a Filipina American, hopes to win the seat that has been left open since incumbent Will Hurd, a moderate Republican, announced he would not seek reelection. Some say Hurd saw the writing on the wall as he was put in jeopardy by Trump's harsh immigration policies that he mostly opposed.

"We have already scared out Will Hurd," says Ortiz Jones, who lost to Hurd by a meager 1000 votes.

Instead of writing off Asian American voters because they either don't vote or vote Republican, Kulkarni has staked his entire campaign on the voting bloc, believing the growing number of minority voters in Texas' 22nd Congressional District are ready to oust Republican Rep. Pete Olson. The Indian American narrowly lost to Olson in the 2018 mid-terms. He hopes that Democrats will come out in droves in 2020 because of the high interest in the Presidential race.

"We don't have representation," Kulkarni says of Asian Americans in Houston. "You look at the population or look around at the area and you see our diversity. But then you see our leaders here. ... For a district that is 60% minority to never have had any minority representing them, there is something off there."

There are over 82,000 registered Asian voters in District 22, Kulkarni told the Daily Texan. If they all show up to vote, it could be the first election ever decided by the Asian vote in this district.

“Whatever happens … I’m going to be very proud of the effort we made,” Kulkarni said. “But clearly, if we’re successful, it’s going to have a dramatic effect with ripples throughout the country.”

Activist groups say that because of “voter suppression tactics used by the state and other entities,” the diversity of Texas is not reflected in state legislature and minority communities’ interests are not reflected in state policy.

“Our state legislators are generally a lot whiter and a lot wealthier than Texans,” said Hani Mirza, senior attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit organization based in Austin.

Voting rights groups have long accused Texas of extreme gerrymandering and restrictive voter registration rules, that in effect have rigged the state’s election rules in ways that disempower black and brown voters.

“The tactics used in gerrymandering can dilute minority votes to where they can't have their voice heard in elections,” said Mirza. He added that when drawing electoral lines, state legislature has broken up minority communities to dilute their votes, or packed minority groups into as few districts as possible to suppress their voice.

Texas is due for a federal census in 2020 and redistricting process in 2021 where electoral maps may be redrawn.

“Because of the rhetoric that has been going against communities of color, this has become a lot more understood that, we have to step forward and fight for our rights in this current atmosphere,” Siddiqui said, explaining a surge of interest that prompted the new group to serve people in and around Fort Worth.

That has put the state on the cusp of change. With the second most votes in the Electoral College -- California is tops -- Republicans need to retain Texas in their corner to counter the expected Democratic victory in California.

“Texas is at a watershed moment but in politics it is all about turning out the vote,”Siddiqui said. “If we can do that, we can turn it blue, but it might still go back and forth.”

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Andrew Yang raises $10 million for his campaign

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Andrew Yang's run for president is surprising skeptics

Of all the candidates running for President of the US, Andrew Yang is the Rodney Dangerfield of the field. He gets no respect.

However, as he continues to inch up in the polls, it's getting harder for mainstream media to ignore the Chinese American tech entrepreneur from New York.

Yang announced Wednesday (Oct. 2) that over the last quarter, he raised $10 million for his presidential campaign — more than some of his better known rivals for the Democratic nomination and just shy of California's Sen. Kamala Harris, who has won three statewide elections in the nation’s biggest state.

“This grassroots fundraising total, with more than $6 million in the bank, ensures this campaign will have the funding to compete and outperform expectations through Super Tuesday and beyond,” Zach Graumann, Yang’s campaign manager, told the New York Times.

While the odds are still against Yang winning the Democrat's nomination to run for POTUS in 2020, his underdog campaign has affected the race towards the presidency in ways unforeseen by political pundits and his more politically seasoned rivals. In that way, he has already won.

The following chart shows that Yang is a hit on the Internet, indicative of the Yang Gang demograpphic: younger, college-educated, tech-savvy, who in their youthful rebellious nature, are open to taking a look at any candidate spurned by traditional, mainstream political machines.

Yang is one of the few candidates who has shown that his base is growing to the point where is on the cusp of breaking into the Top Five of Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris.

Whether or not Yang can maintain his momentum remains to be seen. His performances in the debates where he has pushed his promise of a Freedom Dividend, giving $1000 a month to every adult US citizen, has won him plenty of attention. 

Despite raising $10 million in the third quarter, Yang still faces an uphill battle in gaining the respect of mainstream media as depicted in these two graphics from MSNBC and CNN.

Yang will take part in the Oct. 15 debate that will feature 12 candidates who met the Democratic Party's requirements. Harris and Tulsi Gabbard, the other two AAPI candidates also qualified for the debate being moderated by CNN. Hopefully, the moderators won't be using the Republican talking points as the basis for their questions like they did in the lat time the network hosted the event last summer.

After being marginalized in the first debate in June, Yang has used the debates to introduce himself and his Freedom Dividend, the core of his platform, to a nationwide audience. In Sept. he made a headline-garnering announcement that his campaign would give $1000 a month for a year to 10 families.

The DNC has raised the bar for the November debate. Yang has already met the donor standard but has only met the standard 3% in two polls. Yang needs two more to qualify for the November debate. 

By the time of the November debate, it is expected that a number of presidential contenders will drop out of the race. If Yang can maintain his momentum, he won't be one of them.

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Distrust of Trump driving Korean Americans away from GOP

Donald Trump mocked Asian accents.

ASAM NEWS

Many members of the Korean American community have developed a distrust of President Trump due to his inflammatory rhetoric and actions on immigration, according to Inhe Choi, Executive Director of the HANA Center.

In addition, the Chicago Sun Time reports Trump’s mocking of South Korean President Moon Jae In’s accent last month, further incensed the community. Choi said a growing mistrust, along with a language barrier, could lead some in the Korean community to not fill out the important 2020 Census. The Census helps determine how much funds the federal government allocates to each community.

Mocking Asian accents, "empowers people who would be predisposed to doing that kind of thing anyway,” said Amanda Berg, a Korean American high school English teacher in Denver. “And it makes it acceptable to be openly, increasingly discriminating.”

That’s why the Korean American Association of Chicago this week bolstered its efforts to ensure an accurate count of its community in the 2020 Census. WBEZ reports they organized a committee dedicated exclusively to promoting the Census.

Chicago has the fifth largest Korean population in the United States, according to the Census Bureau.

“The worry has really gotten people questioning everything by the government,” said Choi.

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Sunday Read: Andrew Yang told, "Go back to China"

• Talk show host uses racial slur against candidate
• Yang embraces his 'Asian-ness'
• Businessman battles media bias for recognition

YANG CAMPAIGN

Andrew Yang's campaign is gaining financial momentum and followers.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang was told to"Go back to China." What's surprising is that he isn't met with racial slurs more often.

Right wing pastor and radio host Jesse Lee Peterson declared on his show that “there’s this little Asian guy or Chinese guy, whatever he is, he should go back to China, or where ever he came from, Andrew Yang.”

The right-wing radio host who calls Donald Trump "the Great White Hope," made his remarks while blasting Yang’s universal basic income plan which would give every American $1,000 monthly.

“You allow these people to come into our country and they come in with this socialist, communist ideas.”

Yang, born in Schenectady, New York is the son of Taiwanese immigrants.

According to Newsweek, Peterson has targeted Yang before. He mocked the presidential candidate after he cried during the discussion of gun violence and the death of a four-year-old boy.

“Poor baby, I think that’s a stunt. I don’t think that’s real,” he said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says Peterson once thanked God for slavery.

People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group, discovered the clip and posted it as part of its Right Wing Watch project. You can see the one minute clip in its entirety below.


Yang, whose unexpected staying power, is breaking new ground for Asian America, has embraced his ethnicity during his campaign. Often, he describes himself as the "Asian guy who loves MATH" (Make America Think Harder).

The big surprise is that Yang hasn't encountered more xenophobic attacks. 

Perhaps Yang's biggest hurdle, thus far, is getting mainstream media to take him seriously.

Yang's "Freedom Dividend," a proposal to give every adult in the US $1000 a month, is the cornerstone of his campaign, which is starting to gain momentum from his appearances in the first two Democratic debates. At first, mainstream media tended to treat Yang as a kook, but when the candidate is given a chance to explain his idea of a Universal Basic Income, the less far-fetched it becomes.

Some networks sometimes omit him in their graphics showing the candidates' positions in the polls even though Yang is outperforming media favorites, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, both of whom get more articles written about them.

CNN, NBC and MSNBC have omitted  and apologized for not inccluding Yang's name when listing candidates taking part in the September debate.

NBC GRAPHIC

NBC apologized for omitting Andrew Yang when listing candidates who qualified for he September debate.

In fact, with 3% in the most recent polls, Yang is in the No. 6 spot, ahead of seasoned politicians Booker, O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro and tech billionaire Tom Steyer.

Despite what looks like bias on the part of the media, Yang continues to gain support though his outsider campaign is still considered a long shot.

Asian Americans haven't exactly rushed to Yang's support.

But Shekar Narasimhan — the chair of the AAPI Victory Fund, a super PAC focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters — told NBC it is still early to give an endorsement.

“Just because he is AAPI does not mean that our community will automatically donate to him or support him or vote for him. They have to see how he performs at the debate and to see if he’s going to show up to our event,” Narasimhan said, referring to a presidential forum the super PAC is holding today in California.

Yang, in fact, is one of four Democratic candidates who have committed to showing up at Costa Mesa forum. Also taking part will by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson and Tom Steyer. Most notably, Kamala Harris, whose poll numbers have been slipping in recent weeks, is not scheduled to attend

“I spend a lot of time in Iowa and New Hampshire, and I really haven’t experienced a lot of racism or discrimination,” he told HuffPost. “The people there care a lot more about the ideas I’m promoting that will help them, their families and their communities than they do about what race I happen to be.”

That’s not to say he has avoided his heritage. Yang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, grew up in Schenectady, New York, as one of the few Asian Americans in his class — and his classmates “frequently reminded me of this,” he told Huffington Post in his characteristic deadpan delivery.  When he answers questions in his rapid-fire manner, trying to get in as much content in a limited time frame, people often miss the slightest of smiles (or is that a smirk?)  indicating irony.

“It was definitely a struggle to find my own identity as a first-generation Asian-American without a lot of representation in my neighborhood, or prominently in the public sphere,” he said in the Huffington Post interview.

Yang added: “I think that’s what gave me a drive to relate to and help the underdog.”

“The reaction from Asian Americans on the campaign trail has been very positive, I’m happy to say,” he told HuffPost. “They’re very willing to give me a platform to promote my ideas, and they’re excited to see a role model for their children that shares their Asian heritage.”

Race and white supremacy has been a central part of Donald Trump's campaign. When he told four POC Congresswomen to go back where they came from, he made it clear that he wanted to paint the entire Democratic Party under the banner of "others." and further divide the country by fear and race.


Both Gabbard and Harris, the other two candidates who have AAPI heritage, are of mixed race and -- rightly or wrongly -- are often questioned about their racial origins. For Yang, born of Taiwanese immigrant parents, there is no such doubt about his "Asian-ness."

“My Asian-ness is kind of obvious in a way that might not be true of Kamala or even Tulsi,” Yang responded to a New York Times question during a campaign sweep through New Hampshire. “That’s not a choice. It’s just a fairly evident reality.”

In the same interview, he said, “And I will admit that there are many Asian Americans who are looking at me and my candidacy and want to make sure I reflect positively on the community, so I’m very aware.”

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Four candidates will address AAPI Democrats' presidential forum

Four Democratic presidential hopefuls — Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang — have accepted invitations to participate in a candidates forum hosted by Asian American groups.

“With 2 out of 3 AAPI Democratic presidential candidates confirmed to attend, we look forward to announcing the second wave of candidates as the momentum builds heading into our event in September,” said Shekar Narasimhan, chair and founder of AAPI Victory Fund.

The third AAPI candidate, California's Sen. Kamala Harris, who is Indian American, has apparently decided to skip the California event in favor of campaigning elsewhere.

The forum on Sunday (Sept. 8) is being hosted by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Victory Fund and Asian Americans Rising PAC, starts at 9 a.m. at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, CA.

The AAPI Democratic Presidential Forum is the showcase event of thethe AAPI Community Action Summit that begins today (Sept. 7). 

AAAPI leaders and advocates from across the country will gather to showcase the emerging progressive movement, which is based on the belief that the various AAPI communities are stronger when the work together with common purpose. 

California has the largest and most diverse population in the nation with a strong track record of early voting. Nearly 60% of California Democratic voters cast a ballot by mail in the 2016 Presidential primary.

Asian Americans will make up 13% of California's likely voters even though AAPI eligible voters make up 15% of adult voters, according to PPIC.

For the 2020 election, California will be voting even earlier than in previous years, as its primaries have been shifted to “Super Tuesday” in March, in order to have a greater influence on the Presidential nomination process.

With more AAPI voters than ever, delegate-rich California will receive ballots on the same day that Iowans head to their first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. California outpaced Iowa in delegates needed for the Democratic Party nomination in 2016, 475 to 23.

Forum tickets can be obtained here.

The Costa Mesa forum falls days before the next official Democratic presidential debate in Houston. Ten candidates — including Yang and Harris — met the polling and donor thresholds necessary to participate Sept. 12.

Today (Sept. 7), a majority of the 19 remaining candidates will be making their pitch to the New Hampshire Democratic Party Convention to garner the endorsement of the party's local power brokers and activists, the ground troops necessary to win the nation's first primary in the nation on Feb. 11

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Democrats reach out to AAPI voters; name its AAPI Political Director

SCREEN CAPTURE

John Santos is interviewed by Baliitang America TV about his recent appointment.

Recognizing the critical role Asian American and Pacific Islander voters will play in the 2020 elections, the Democratic National Committee has named a veteran political and media specialist as its liaison with AAPI communities.

John Santos was promoted to be the Asian American Pacific Islander Political Director. He was named to his new position along with African American Political Director Cyrus Garrett, and Native American Political Director Theresa Sheldon.

The trio join previously named hires Rural Political Director Libby Schneider, Labor Political Director Tucker McDonald, and Interfaith Outreach Director Dr. Derrick Harkins.

“Diversity and inclusion have always been the strength of our Democratic coalition,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “Now more than ever we will need a strong team that can harness the energy and excitement in our base communities to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. I am confident that the team we are building at the DNC is ready to build the coalitions we need heading into one of the most important elections of our lifetimes.”

In his new position, Santos will develop and promote the DNC’s outreach efforts to AAPI communities. 

“To me, it’s all about how do we mobilize the community, right? How do we make sure Asian Americans, Filipino Americans, are voting? And what I see is the DNC right now is the party that’s really committed to doing that,” Santos told Balitang America.

He will also serve as the liaison to the Veterans and Military Families Council. Most recently, he served as the DNC’s Western Regional Press Secretary and AAPI Media Director. Previously, he served in the U.S. Army as the Deputy Press Secretary for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve during a year-long deployment in Kuwait and Iraq. Additionally, he previously served as the Health Policy Assistant Director for the American Legion and Chair for Communications at KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress.

Politicians rarely target their outreach toward Asian Americans. Compared to the national average of 53 percent, only 31 percent of Asian Americans reported being contacted by candidates or parties in 2012.

The 2018 midterm elections that the Democratic National Committee invested heavily in the Asian Americans, said Santos. He said the DNC registered Asian Americans to vote, ran in-language print ads and put Asian American organizers on the ground in competitive congressional districts such as traditionally conservative Orange County in California.

Based on the results, Santos said these efforts “paid off.”

In the 2014 midterm elections, 49 percent of Asian American voters backed a Democratic House candidate, according to exit polls. In 2016, 65 percent chose Hillary Clinton over Trump. By the 2018 midterms, that number shot up to 77 percent.

Asian American voters have been trending Democratic even more under Trump, even though 40% of the voters are not registered with either party. Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies have pushed turned off the AAPI electorate, the majority of which is still first and second generation immigrants.

That voting trend could have massive implications for 2020: Not only are they one of the fastest-growing voter demographics, they’re also an increasingly pivotal one in battleground states like Virginia, Nevada, and Arizona.

According to AAPI Data, Asian American voters already make up more than 10 percent of the eligible voting population in California and Hawaii, and more than 5 percent in a slew of other states including Nevada, New Jersey, and New York.

“Building a team that reflects the diverse coalition that we need to win back the White House and the Senate is one of our priorities,” said DNC Political Director Muthoni Wambu Kraal. “I am proud of the diversity of our staff, and we are lucky to have Taylor, John, Cyrus, Theresa, Libby, Tucker, and Derrick leading our efforts in laying the groundwork to victory in 2020.”

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Indian American is the frontrunner in Texas congressional seat

Sri Preston Kulkarni reached out to minority voters in his 2018 campaign.

The campaign of Sri Preston Kulkarni got a huge lift with the retirement of Republican incumbent, Rep. Pete Olson.

Texas, once a solidly red state, is turning purple.

Olson won re-election in 2018 with a narrow victory of first-time campaigner Kulkarni.

“My amazing wife, Nancy, has carried the lion’s share of parenting our two great children. Her mother has suffered health issues that require more care and attention,” Olson said. “As someone who has long advocated for policies that put our families first, it’s time for me to take my own advice and be a more consistent presence to help our family.”

The son of an Indian immigrant father and a direct descendant of Sam Houston on his mother's side, Kulkarni must now be considered the frontrunner in Congressional District 22. 

Surprisingly, the district, covering the Houston's southeastern suburbs, is one of Texas' most racially diverse. The district is just 40% white (down from 45 percent in 2010), 26% Hispanic, 19% Asian and 12% black, and 43% of adults hold college degrees, among the highest in the state.

Kulkarni almost upset Olson in 2018 by focusing his campaign on getting minorities, who historically had low voting rates, to the polls.

“When I first started, I was told not to bother with the Asian American vote because they don’t turn out,” Kulkarni told the Observer. “Well, I said, maybe that’s because you’re not reaching out to them.”

Last month when Trump began attacking four congresswomen of color, Olson urged Trump to "disavow" his "go back" comments, but declined to vote to condemn them as racist on the House floor. Kulkarni, who grew up in Fort Bend County and speaks six languages, flew under the radar for most of 2018, but nearly caught Olson napping and will have much more DC support this time.

“We have people who are pumped up to come out and knock on doors right now, ..." Kulkarni said. during his 2018 campaign “People wanted change in this district, and since we've built all that infrastructure, it would be a waste to start from scratch.”

Kulkarni must first get past the Democratic primary, where he already faces Attorney Nyanza Davis Moore and Pearland City Councilman Derrick Reed.

“Republicans across Texas are terrified of losing their seats in 2020 and we can’t blame Pete Olson for choosing to retire instead of being thrown out of office next year," said Democratic Party spokesman Avery Jaffe.

Olson's retirement announcement preceded a similar announcement last week by Rep. Will Hurd, who decided not to run for reelection in neighboring District 23 opening the door for another Asian American candidate, Gina Ortiz Jones, who lost to Hurd by less than 1000 votes in the midterm elections.

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Gina Ortiz Jones’ GOP opponent drops out of congressional race

Will Hurd's retirement opens the door for Gina Ortiz Jones, right.

The road to Congress just got a lot smoother for Gina Ortiz Jones when her opponent, incumbent Republican Will Hurd announced Thursday (Aug. 1) that he would not be seeking reelection in Texas' Congressional District 23.

Hurd's decision to retire opens the door for his chief challenger, Democrat Ortiz Jones, who, if she wins in 2020, would become the first Filipina American elected to Congress.

The three-term congressman rocked the Republican establishment when he made his surprise announcement in a statement and on Twitter, where Hurd wrote he will continue to "pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security."

Hurd, a former CIA intelligence officer and the lone Republican African American in the House of Representatives, said that he's "taken a conservative message to places that don't often hear it. I'm going to (stay) involved in politics to help make sure the Republican Party looks like America."

He was one of the few Republicans who criticized Trump around immigration, the border wall and, more recently, Trump's racist messages against four House members of color and against Rep. Elijah Cummings, who represents Baltimore.

Despite his critical positions, as Air Force veteran Ortiz Jones has repeatedly pointed out, when it came time to vote on the House floor, Hurd would vote along along party lines supporting Trump.

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer said the 23rd District leans Republican, and the party "will fight tooth and nail to ensure it remains in Republican hands in 2020."

Ortiz Jones narrowly lost to Hurd in 2018 and should assume the role of favorite in the sprawling district which has a long stretch of border with Mexico and is 70% Latino.

It won't be a cakewalk for Ortiz Jones. She will still have to fight for the seat. Two other Democrats have filed to run for the Party's nomination: Activist Rosalinda Ramos Abuabara and  journalist Liz Wahl. 

Interestingly, one of Ortiz Jones' Democratic rivals is another Filipina American, television journalist Liz Wahl. Her biggest claim to fame is when she quit on air,  her news anchor job with Russia Today, a television network, after she figured out that it was just a Russian propaganda organ.

Ramos Abuabara is counting on her involvement with the local LGBTQ community and to energize the Latino vote to challenge Ortiz Jones.

The Texas Primary is March 3, 2020.

Below is Will Hurd's retirement announcement:

There are many reasons why I love America. I have learned over my three terms in Congress, by representing people that voted for me, didn’t vote for me or didn’t vote at all, that America is better than the sum of its parts. Serving people of all walks of life has shown me that way more unites our country than divides us. This understanding has allowed me to win elections many people thought I couldn’t, especially when the political environment was overwhelmingly against my party.

In this experiment called America we strive to create a more perfect union. Our founding principle of a right to free speech has given us the freedom to disagree, and the resulting competition of ideas has produced policies tackling a variety of problems. As has happened many times throughout our history, we now face generational defining challenges at home and abroad.

We are in a geopolitical competition with China to have the world’s most important economy. There is a global race to be the leader in artificial intelligence, because whoever dominates AI will rule the world. We face growing cyberattacks every day. Extreme poverty, lack of economic opportunity and violence in Central America is placing unbearable pressure on our borders. While Congress has a role in these issues, so does the private sector and civil society.

After reflecting on how best to help our country address these challenges, I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security.

I left a job I loved in the CIA as an undercover officer to meet what I believed to be a need for new leadership in Congress on intelligence and national security matters. I wanted to help the Intelligence Community in a different way by bringing my knowledge and experience to Congress. I’m leaving the House of Representatives to help our country in a different way. I want to use my knowledge and experience to focus on these generational challenges in new ways. It was never my intention to stay in Congress forever, but I will stay involved in politics to grow a Republican Party that looks like America.

As the only African American Republican in the House of Representatives and as a Congressman who represents a 71% Latino district, I’ve taken a conservative message to places that don’t often hear it. Folks in these communities believe in order to solve problems we should empower people not the government, help families move up the economic ladder through free markets not socialism and achieve and maintain peace by being nice with nice guys and tough with tough guys. These Republican ideals resonate with people who don’t think they identify with the Republican Party. Every American should feel they have a home in our party.

While I have 17 months left in my term, I’m very proud of the last 55. There were times when it was fun and times when it wasn’t. When people were mad, it was my job to listen. When people felt hopeless, it was my job to care. When something was broken, it was my job to find out how to fix it.

When border patrol agents weren’t getting the tools they needed to do their job, I stepped in to help. When I found an opportunity to expose more students to computer science, I partnered with non-profits to train local teachers to incorporate coding into math class. I made sure taxpayer money was used more efficiently by changing how the government purchases IT goods and services.

It was never about the size nor difficulty nor sexiness of the problem; It was about making a difference. My philosophy has been simple. Be honest. Treat people with respect. Never shy away from a fight. Never accept “no” or the status quo and never hesitate to speak my mind. 

Two centuries ago, I would have been counted as three-fifths of a person, and today I can say I’ve had the honor of serving three terms in Congress. America has come a long way and we still have more to do in our pursuit of a more perfect union. However, this pursuit will stall if we don’t all do our part. When I took the oath of office after joining the CIA, I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all its enemies. I took the same oath on my first day in Congress. This oath doesn’t have a statute of limitations. I will keep fighting to ensure the country I love excels during what will be a time of unprecedented technological change. I will keep fighting to make certain we successfully meet these generational challenges head on. I will keep fighting to remind people why I love America: that we are neither Republican nor Democrat nor Independent; We are better than the sum of our parts.

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