New! - CAUSE&Effects - Volume 3, Issue 2

The State of Asian American Politics

By the AAA Fund

The Number of Asian American Candidates Has Increased Dramatically Over The Past Few Election Cycles

The number of Asian American candidates for political office has increased dramatically over the last few election cycles. “The pool of qualified APA candidates seeking higher office is definitely more talented, more seasoned and more sophisticated and thus, more competitive.”1 In fact, this is part of a recent trend. In the 2002 cycle, about 190 Asian American candidates ran for office at the local, state, and national levels.2 Two years later, more than 230 Asian American candidates ran for elected office (that number increases to 300 if losing primary candidates are counted).3 This reflects an increase of approximately 21% every two years. Indeed, increasingly, Asian American candidates are running both for re-election and against other Asian American candidates.4
“This election underscores a new reality in American politics. It is no longer surprising to see an Asian American name on a ballot,” said Paul Tiao, co-founder of the AAA-Fund. “What is equally important is that we aren’t just talking about races in the traditional APA population centers in Hawaii and California, but we’re talking about big ticket races in Illinois and Ohio, and important races in Iowa and Connecticut.”

The Number of Asian American Office Holders Has Increased Dramatically Over The Past Few Election Cycles

Dramatic changes have also taken place in the last two election cycles as to the number of Asian American office holders. In 1996, a decade ago, there were only approximately 300 Asian American elected officials nationwide, including two U.S. Senators, 41 state representatives, 83 city council members, and 26 city mayors.5 In 2005, that number had nearly doubled, to 555. This included two U.S. Senators, five U.S. Representatives, 64 State Senators, 97 State Representatives, three state governors, 19 city mayors, 123 city or county council members or other municipal elected officials, and 236 judges.6 The total number of Asian American officials has increased substantially, growing from 120 in 1978 to 346 in 2004.7 This increase is most pronounced at the local level. In 1978 there were 52 Asian American local officials, but in 2004, this figure had increased to 260.8

There are many more Asian American office holders today, despite the occasional racial obstacles. Jun Choi, for example, became mayor of Edison, NJ, in this past election cycle, after a local radio host publicly asked: “Would you really vote for someone named Jun Choi?… We’re forgetting the fact that we're Americans … No specific minority group or foreign group should ever, ever dictate the outcome of an American election.” The resulting publicity and outpouring of support in reaction to that statement led to his election.9

Asian American Political Empowerment And Potential May Be At A Tipping Point In This Election Cycle.

Aside from candidates and office holders, Asian Americans are increasingly involved in politics — both as voters and as campaign contributors. What is more, this increase in participation may have a disproportionate political impact. Growth in the Asian American population has been concentrated in traditional battleground states, and in the vote-rich suburbs of major metropolitan areas. Moreover, the Democratic Party has devoted unprecedented resources to registering Asian Americans and getting them out to vote. All these factors are expected to lead to increased Asian American clout in this election cycle.
As of July 2004, the Census Bureau estimated the Asian American population at 14.0 million — roughly 5% of the total population and over a million people more than the estimated population of Illinois, the fifth most populous state.10 The Asian American population is also the fastest growing population. Between 1990 and 2000, it grew by 48.3%.11 This rate was over three times the growth of the total population at 13.2%. By 2050, the population of Asian Americans will grow to 33.4 million, a 213% increase, and will comprise 8% of the total population.12
In this election cycle, Asian Americans are likely to play a key role as voters for three reasons. First, they are concentrated in key battleground states. They form over 4% of the population in nine states, including California (12%), Washington (6.7%), Nevada (5.6%), New Jersey (6.2%), and Virginia (4.3%). And in 2000, the number of eligible Asian American voters exceeded the margin of victory in 10 states that represent 135 electoral votes. In many of those states, the growth of the Asian American population is disproportionate relative to other groups, so their clout is much more intensely felt. For example, although Nevada’s population increased by 66% between 1990 and 2000, the Asian American population grew by 225%.13 In Minnesota, the Asian American population doubled, and in Washington, roughly one in twelve residents is Asian American.14 The Washington D.C. area has seen a 119% increase in Asian Americans between 1990 and 2000.15

Second, a recent study shows more Asian Americans becoming homeowners, especially in top metropolitan areas in the country.16 Given this increasing rate of homeownership, Asian American political involvement is likely have a long-term impact, particularly at the local level — thus, over the past three decades, there have been tremendous demographic shifts in the Asian American population that have political implications for this election cycle. For example, in cities such as Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Cerritos, and Milpitas — where Caucasians were originally the undisputed majority even in the 1980s — Asian Americans are now in the majority. For example, in 1980, Caucasians accounted for 87% of the population in Cupertino while Asian Americans were 6.7%. In 2000, Asian Americans comprised 48% of the total population as compared to Caucasians at 46%.17

Third, Asian Americans are turning out to vote in dramatically increasing numbers. Nationally, between 1990 and 2000, Asian American voters grew from less than a million to 1.98 million — a growth rate of 118%.18 In 2004, 2.77 million voted.19 In 2004, more than one third of Asian American voters voted for the first time.20 The increased number of voters is also a result of unusually high participation rates. In 2000, 4.7 million Asian Americans were eligible to vote, 2.5 million were registered, and 83% of registered Asian Americans actually voted.21 These trends and the high rate of naturalization among Asian Americans22 suggest that the Asian American vote will continue to increase in importance in the coming national election.
These trends are reflected in local elections too. For example, in 2000, 76% of the Asian Americans living in Minnesota were registered to vote, and 69% actually participated in the election. In 2002, 89% of registered Asian Americans showed up to vote, including many first-time voters.23 As a result, the Asian American vote has become a “hot commodity” in this election cycle.24 The increased participation rate is in part a result of major get-out-the-vote programs targeting Asian American voters. In 2004, the Democratic Party, led by Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA) and Governor Gary Locke (D-WA) devoted unprecedented resources to a nationwide effort to increase Asian American turnout on election day. Those outreach efforts have continued. [CAUSE Editor’s Note – The Republican Party has also increased its Asian American outreach efforts: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002493395_republican14m.html]
The Democratic Party recently organized well-attended Asian American Democratic Summits in San Jose and in Washington, D.C. That impact is likely to benefit Democratic candidates. According to exit polls and surveys, Asian Americans have been voting increasingly Democratic over the past four presidential election cycles. According to the New York Times, 31% of Asian Americans voted Democratic in 1992, but 58% voted Democratic in 2004. Forty percent of Asian Americans identified as leaned Democratic, as compared to only 19% who identified as leaned Republican.25 In 2004, the Washington Post reported 61% of Asian Americans voting for John Kerry and 39% voting for George Bush.26
Asian Americans could swing the vote this election cycle in key states such as Washington and Minnesota where key statewide races for Senate and Governor have been, and will be determined by a very small margin. The increasing number of Asian American candidates in these two states is likely to engage newer Asian American voters, which could provide the turnout necessary to make Asian Americans a deciding factor in these races. For example, last cycle in 2004, the Democratic Governor, Christine Gregoire, won by a mere 46 votes, which was determined by two recounts.27 Before that, in 2000, Senator Maria Cantwell won her election after a vote recount as well.28 Thus, the mobilization of Asian Americans to the polls is expected to have made the difference between victory and defeat in various races this election cycle.
Fourth, Asian Americans are engaged in politics in ways other than voting. For example, in 2000, almost one-fifth of U.S.-born Asian Americans reported contributing to a political campaign.29
Together, these four factors suggest that in this 2006 election cycle, Asian Americans will have a major impact as candidates, office holders, voters, and contributors.

1 Tom, Maeley. 2005. “APA Bench Deepens.” AsianWeek, July 29, 2005, available at http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=3bd440db8d54d675373b682e2789e72e .
2 “APAs are Making Political Progress.” Northwest Asian Weekly, November 13, 2004, available at http://www.nwasianweekly.com/archive/editorial.23.46.htm .
3 See also “2004 Asian Pacific Islander American Candidates,” compiled by Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, available at http://www.apaics.org/downloads/2004_Election_Results.pdf .
4 Leung, Wendy. “Game of Musical Chairs for APA Politicos.” AsianWeek, March 24, 2006, available at http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=0801a70f35c47d4bfc8ad66597493693&this_category_id=170 .
5 Nakanishi, Don. 1996. “The Growing Impact of Asian Pacific Americans in American Politics.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center; see also Lisa S. Tsai, “Emerging Power: A Study on Asian American Political Candidates.” Asian American Policy Review, Vol. IX:2000:76-98, at 79.
6 “Key Federal, State, and Municipal Elected Officials Representation by States.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 60. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
7 Arguelles, Dennis, and Lai, Eric. 2003. “The New Face of Asian Pacific America, Numbers, Diversity, & Change in the 21st Century.” San Francisco: AsianWeek; see also “Key Federal, State, and Municipal Elected Officials Representation by States.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 60. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
8 Hardy-Fanta, Carol, Christine Sierra, Pai-te Lien, Dianne Pinderhughes, and Wartyna Davis. 2005. “Race, Gender, and Descriptive Representation: An Exploratory View of Multicultural Elected Leadership in the United States.” Washington, D.C.: American Political Science Association.
9 Adam Green and Matt Stoller, “Jersey Boy.” The American Prospect Online, Jan. 9, 2006, available at http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10802 . Edison is the fifth largest city in New Jersey, and about one-third of its population is Asian American.
10 U.S. Census Bureau, “Annual Estimates of the Population by Sex, Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005 (NC-EST2005-03),” http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2005-srh.html.
11 U.S. Census Bureau, “Population by Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States: 1990 and 2000 (PHC-T-1),” http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t1.html.
12 U.S. Census Bureau, “United States Population Projections by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2000 to 2050,” available at http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html.
13 National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 39. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
14 Hu, Janelle, “Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote: Educating, Mobilizing, and Empowering the Community for November 2, 2004 and Beyond.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 29. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
15 National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 38. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
16 UCLA Asian American Studies Center and Asian Real Estate Association of America, “A New Path to Homeownership for Asian American Home Buyers.” May, 2006, available at http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/archives/AREAAUCLAAASCStudy.pdf.
17 Lai, James S. “The Suburbanization of Asian American Politics.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 8-9. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center. In Fremont, the tenth largest city in the nation, Asian Americans make up 40.4% of the population. In Cerritos, Asian Americans made up the majority of the population at 51.8%. National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 9,38. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
18 Lien, Pei-te. “The Voting Rights Act and Its Implications on Three Nonblack Minorities.” In Richard Valelly Ed., The Voting Rights Act: Securing the Ballot. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 2006 (Chapter 8, Draft version, 4-5-05).
19 U.S. Census Bureau, Center Population Survey, November 2004.
20 Hu, Janelle, “Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote: Educating, Mobilizing, and Empowering the Community for November 2, 2004 and beyond.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 28. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.; see also id. at 31 (“Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s exit poll results of over 11,000 APIA voters surveyed in 20 cities in 8 states revealed 38% of the polled Asian-Americans were first-time voters.”).
21 Hu, Janelle, “Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote: Educating, Mobilizing, and Empowering the Community for November 2, 2004 and beyond.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 32. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center; see also “Citizenship and Voting Rates by Race and Ethnicity: 2000.” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 40. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Non-Hispanic whites voted at a rate of 86.4%; blacks voted at a rate of 84.2%, and Hispanics of any race voted at 78.6%.
22 Lien, Pei-te, Christian Collet, Janelle Wong, and S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, “Asian Pacific-American Public Opinion and Political Participation,” Political Science and Politics, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Sep., 2001), 625-630, at 625 (Asian Americans naturalized at a rate at least twice as high as immigrants from Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom).
23 Moua, Mee. “What is the Impact of the 2004 Elections on Asian Pacific Americans?” National Asian Pacific American Political Almanac (12th ed. 2005), at 21. Los Angeles: UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
24 Folmar, Kate, “Asian Vote a Hot Commodity.” The Mercury News, May 17, 2006.
25 Conway, M. Margaret, Lien, Pe-Tei, and Wong, Janelle. 2004. The Politics of Asian Americans, Diversity & Community. New York: Routledge.
26 See, e.g., APIA Vote Exit Polling Results, available at http://www.apiavote.org/2004ExitPollResults.htm .
27 2004 Gubernatorial Elections, all states. 2004. In CQ Voting and Election Collection (Web Site). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.
28 CNN, Washington Recount Confirms Cantwell’s Senate Victory, December 1, 2000.
29 Lien, Pei-te, M. Margaret Conway, and Janelle Wong. 2004. The Politics of Asian Americans, Diversity and Community. New York: Routledge.

This article is a reprinted portion of a reported issued by the AAA Fund (http://aaa-fund.org)
in May, 2006.

 

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