SPECIAL ELECTIONS BRIEFING
🗳️ ELECTION 2024
We’re one week out from Election Day, and at this point, anything goes.
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have historically voted Democrat, but the GOP has made inroads with the demographic in some battleground states across the last two election cycles.
State of play: Vice President Kamala Harris has targeted these voters with a string of campaigns in battleground states. From ad buys attacking former president Donald Trump’s policy platform and racially derogatory language to billboards and taxi tops around the Las Vegas Pinoy Pride festival, these outreach efforts could result in the nation’s first Asian American and Black president.
While Trump has only held one rally catered to AAPI voters, prominent AAPI political figures—including former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawai‘i)—have served as surrogates on the campaign trail. His tough-on-crime agenda also has its appeals among some AAPI voters.
The Republican Party notably closed several of its minority community centers after the 2022 election cycle, including an AAPI-focused center in Nevada.
With D-7 days, we’ve tracked AAPI engagement in seven states where they could emerge as the “margin of victory.”
These are states that have seen significant investments from both parties due to their likelihood of deciding the presidential election.
— Edited by
Shawna Chen
GEORGIA
President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Georgia marked the first time in close to three decades that a Democratic presidential candidate carried the vote—something made possible by the state’s AAPI community. Both candidates are now looking to recreate that momentum.
While Harris and Trump have each made several visits to Georgia, local AAPI groups have served as the frontline for engagement.
The legal advocacy organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta has led efforts to combat voter suppression, which disproportionately affects non-English-speaking communities, while Indians for Trump held events with GOP officials stumping for the former president.
— By
Rachel Lee
NEVADA
Nevada has the largest share of AAPIs after California and Hawai‘i. It's one of handful of states to experience active, targeted outreach from both candidates.
Vegas-based community leader Rozita Lee featured in a Harris ad on health care while Gov. Tim Walz and his wife both made stumped at local Asian American businesses. The campaign also rolled out billboards and taxi tops around the Pinoy Pride festival in September.
Trump held his first AAPI-focused rally last week in Las Vegas, where he emphasized his plan to cut Social Security benefits, reduce energy bills and end illegal immigration. He was joined by former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawai‘i), who is Samoan.
— By
John Camara
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania holds 19 electoral votes—one of the highest counts among all states—and its AAPI voters—which have grown by 32% since 2012—are set to play a critical role deciding both the White House and Congress.
Local AAPI political and civil rights groups are working in 22 AAPI languages to reach and mobilize voters statewide.
Something of note: Though Indians make up the largest AAPI ethnic group, Chinese is the only AAPI language in which the state’s voting materials are available.
— By
Dhanika Pineda
WISCONSIN
AAPIs make up roughly 2.75% of the state’s electorate. That may seem like a small percentage, but it’s precisely what political analysts say could make the difference in a state expected to see razor-thin margins.
The Harris campaign has focused on engagement with the Hmong community, who comprise more than a third of the state’s total AAPI electorate.
Trump’s visits to Wisconsin have primarily comprised of attacks on the migrant influx at the southern border and personal insults.
— By
Katrina Pham
MICHIGAN
With Republicans and Democrats trading wins in the past two presidential elections, AAPIs will play a pivotal role in deciding which candidate will receive Michigan’s 15 electoral votes.
The Harris campaign has hired Asian American voter engagement staff in Michigan—and every other battleground state—as part of their outreach strategy.
Trump is pushing a tough-on-crime agenda with promises to deliver “law, order, safety, and peace” in a bid to reach the 80% of AAPI voters who say crime is “extremely” or “very” important in polling.
— By
Preston Lieu
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Though Harris is favored to win the state, it
’s
still considered a battleground state due to tight margins in previous election cycles.
Local Asian American officials on both sides of the aisle have sought to bolster their respective candidates’ campaigns by spotlighting the importance of “firsts” and emphasizing what Republicans see as the loss of the American Dream.
— By
Naomi Vanderlip
FLORIDA
Although Trump won the state in both 2016 and 2020 and has a comfortable lead in polling analyses, Democrats recently launched a late-stage campaign push in a bid to win over undecided voters in a state that remains largely unsatisfied with American politics.
Policies like Gov. Ron DeSantis’ SB 264, which bans Chinese nationals without green cards from purchasing property in Florida, have alienated many AAPIs in the state and soured their view of the GOP.
It led many to break from their pattern of voting Republican in the Florida primary—a trend that could repeat in November.
— By
Sonia Prasad
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