Asian American voter potential eyed in 2018 and beyond

Rep. Judy Chu, Fil-Am actor/activist Lou Diamond Phillips discuss importance of mobilizing the AAPI electorate

By now, many are seeing the significance of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) electorate following the 2016 general election.

Particularly, the AAPI community won big during the Senate races and AAPI voter turnout was the largest in American history.

As previously reported in the Asian Journal, the Asian American electorate is the fastest-growing voter group in the United States — and political organizations are taking notice.

At this year’s Politicon, the annual nonpartisan political convention held in LA, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) acknowledged the shift in the overall American electorate.

“Asian Pacific Islanders are on the rise in this nation and I see it with my own eyes,” said Chu, who became the first Chinese American woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 2009.

Chu was one of the panelists at the convention’s panel called “Asian American and PAcific Islanders: Crucial Vote in Swing States” which explored the potential impact of AAPIs in the American political system.

Chu, who also chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), sung the many achievements of Asian Americans in the last election alone: the number of AAPIs in Congress jumped from 13 to 18 (the most in U.S. history), the “unexpected” election of three Asian American women in the U.S. Senate and the highest voter turnout for AAPIs in U.S. history (35 percent, nationwide).

Notably, she discussed the impact of AAPI voters in swing states. For example, 9 percent of Nevada’s population are AAPIs, but 69 percent of them voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election; Clinton ended up winning the state.

In Virginia, another swing state, AAPIs are 5 percent of the population and 81 percent of AAPIs voted for Clinton; Clinton also ended up winning Virginia.

“The potential for the AAPIs to be the swing vote is enormous, and that’s what I mean when I say we can go from being marginalized to the margin of victory,” Chu said to massive applause.

The congresswoman emphasized the importance of the AAPI role in the 2018 midterm elections, which are “critical” and can give the Democratic Party (the party preference for a majority of AAPIs) a chance to win back the House.

During midterm elections, the opposing party of the current president historically wins more seats. But Chu discussed going further and tackling historically Republican districts that voted for Clinton, many of which are in California.

California’s 45th congressional district — which comprises of a heavy Republican votership from Orange to Mission Viejo — voted for Clinton and has an open congressional seat in 2018. The state’s 48th district (centered in Huntington Beach) also has an open seat next year.

Both these districts have a strong AAPI votership that have the power to shift the midterms.

“Can you imagine, if you mobilize those voters and get them to turn out and get them to be the swing vote, how we could turn those seats and win back the House? It would make a huge difference,” Chu said.

Also on the panel was Filipino-American actor and activist Lou Diamond Phillips, who discussed the shift happening among younger AAPIs.

“We’re seeing a generation that is starting to embrace their own and perhaps even break away from the more stained traditions of their immigrant parents. They’re becoming more vocal which is exactly what we need,” the actor said.

Phillips is no stranger to social activism. Since the early 2000s, he has been an outspoken advocate for the Filipino Equity Act, which called for stronger recognition and benefits for Filipino World War II Veterans. He has also actively fought for rights of Native Americans

One thing all the panelists agreed on was that prospective representatives — on local, statewide and national platforms — must address the issues of individual communities and avoid treating the AAPI community as a monolith.

“What I don’t want to see is a homogenization of Asian American experience. You cannot necessarily segment or subdivide the Asian vote,” Phillips asserted. “There are so many of us classified as Asian, and each of these individual communities must be addressed and not just washed over the same big brush. So it’s going to be incumbent upon representatives to address our community’s needs, individually.”

Also on the panel were MSNBC journalist and anchor Richard Lui, political strategist Bill Wong and founder and president of the Millennial Action Project Steven Olikara.

Fil-Ams weigh in on representation, urge AAPIs to become politically active

Asian Americans in the public eye are not the only ones noticing the impact of AAPI participation in the political system.

Helen Ronaldo of Buena Park, California became “more politically minded” during a high school class government class where she learned about the importance of Asian American representation in governing roles.

“I realized that up until recently, the people governing our country were basically all white, straight men who were ignorant of the issues facing many demographics. I’m happy to be alive at this time when we’re seeing a shift in our government in term of diversity, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Ronaldo, 18, told the Asian Journal after the panel on Saturday.

The future political science major at Cal Poly Pomona added that although she advocates a more diverse pool of lawmakers, she notes that “it’s not about filling a quota”, but rather “it’s all about who is best fit for the job.”

“Historically, a lot of people weren’t elected because of their race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation,” Ronaldo remarked. “There are a lot of qualified folks from the Asian community who can serve all Americans and shed a light on people who were once ignored by senators, Congressmen and other political leaders. Representation is really important in all spheres, but especially in our government because our government is supposed to be a representation of all of America.”

Jun Uy also believes in the importance of representation to mobilize the AAPI community and praised Asian Americans currently serving in the government, notably CA Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) — who is the first and only Filipino American in the state Legislature — and Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois).

“I rally behind them, not just because of their ethnicity though, but because now I can rest easy and know that there’s someone who has my interests in mind and understands the Asian American experience,” Uy, a social worker living in Burbank, told the Asian Journal. “It’s like when you see videos of little girls who are excited about Wonder Woman: there’s finally a mainstream female superhero on the forefront. They’re excited that there’s someone who looks like them making waves, and that’s how I feel about seeing Asian faces in government, as well as entertainment and other places.” (Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)