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👋 Good morning and welcome to Power Shift, The Yappie’s weekly guide to the politics, policy news, and activism affecting Asian American + Pacific Islander communities. Email me at [email protected] to share tips, comments, or questions. And support our work by making a donation.
– Edited by Shawna Chen
THE BIG STORY
What the data tells us about AAPI voters in last week’s elections
Democratic Senate challenger James Talarico (left) and Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa celebrate their election wins. Photo: Talarico for Texas campaign
AAPI voters helped Democrats take back Congress last week. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the blue tsunami is enough to sustain that relationship into 2028.
Democrats clinched a staggering victory in the midterms. Not only will they control Congress, they also won several key statewide seats across the country, flipping solid red state houses in Texas and North Carolina.
It shocked people on both sides of the aisle.
AAPI voters have long leaned Democratic. Multiple post-election voter analyses tell us how exactly they showed up this year.
Among likely 2026 voters of any race who chose Donald Trump in 2024, about 7% voted for a Democratic U.S. House candidate this year, according to data from UChicago NORC’s Civic Health & Elections Project.
Among AAPI voters, that share surges to 18%. And in battleground states, 21% of AAPIs who voted for Trump in 2024 crossed over to vote for a Democratic Senate candidate this year.
84% young AAPI women voted for Democratic House candidates, just behind young Black women (86%), per Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
And despite concerns about the male loneliness epidemic contributing to rightward shifts, 79% of young AAPI men voted for a Democratic House candidate—the highest of all racial groups.
Comparing 2024 to 2026, AAPIs had the second-largest partisan swing (9 points) from Republican to Democrat—just behind Latinos, according to a nationwide survey led by the African American Research Collaborative and BSP Research.
Democratic approval might not be the takeaway, however.
In battleground states, the share of 2024 Kamala Harris voters who switched to GOP House candidates was about 6% among AAPI voters, NORC findings show.
Among voters of any race, it was about 3%.
Crossover isn’t the whole story, either. Democrats held a clear advantage among previously inactive AAPI voters, per AAPI Data’s analysis.
Of likely 2026 voters who didn’t cast a ballot in 2024, 76% chose a Democratic House candidate this year.
In that same group, 22% went for a GOP House candidate. (The breakdown among voters who stayed home in 2022 was similar.)
The remainder: “When you do the subtraction, you will see that it’s very likely Trump voters were more likely to stay home this election than Harris voters,” AAPI Data Executive Director Karthick Ramakrishnan said during a post-election briefing.
He added that this midterm once again highlighted how AAPIs are more likely to vote on issues than party.
Unsurprisingly, the economy and jobs, health care, and the Iran War are the most important issues for AAPI voters this year.
Nearly 9 in 10 also support immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship and family unity, an APIAVote analysis found.
Almost 60% say they are somewhat or very worried that they, their family, or their community could be targeted by government policies because of their race, ethnicity, religion, language, immigration status, or national origin.
Caveat: Keep in mind that sample sizes for AAPI respondents were small, meaning there could’ve been a relatively high margin of error. Poll results may still change as they’re reweighted.
Our Take
As data has historically shown, Democrats should be cautious of taking AAPI voters for granted.
With conservatives still in control of the White House and Supreme Court, the clock is ticking for Democrats to deliver on lower cost of living and improved health care access before 2028—especially as they look to maintain House control and retake the presidency.
State and local governments, which could help expand insurance coverage and lower childcare costs, might help Democrats build that momentum to produce results by the deadline.
ELECTIONS WATCH
Winners and losers: How did AAPI candidates fare in the midterms?
Left to right: Dan Koh, Pia Dandiya, Amish Shah, Richard Pan, and Alicia Garrido Limtiaco. Photos: Candidate campaigns
A record 23 AAPIs will fill the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus’ ranks this January, ranging from first-time politicians who won close races in swing districts to incumbents who could take on new leadership roles in a Democratic-controlled House.
Democrats Pia Dandiya (Florida’s 22nd congressional district) and Amish Shah (Arizona’s 1st congressional district) both flipped high-profile seats and will be the first South Asians to represent their respective constituencies.
Other newcomers include Democrats Richard Pan (California), Dan Koh (Massachusetts), and Alicia Garrido Limtiaco (Guam).
Established Asian Americans retained power, concentrated in California.
Democrats Judy Chu and Ted Lieu handily won reelection in their districts. Lieu, currently vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, announced shortly after that he’s running for caucus chair and is currently unopposed, Politico reports. Winning would make him the highest ranked Asian American lawmaker in the House—ever.
Democrat Doris Matsui was leading progressive candidate Mai Vang, by about 11% as of Friday, per CapRadio. Nearly a third of votes still needed to be counted.
Republican Vince Fong also solidly won his inland district against Democratic challenger Sandra Van Scotter.
The only Asian American incumbent to lose as of Monday night: Young Kim, who struggled to fend off fellow GOP Rep. Ken Calvert in the contest for California’s redrawn 40th district. Her ousting means the handful of AAPI Republicans still in Congress will shrink once more.
Governor’s races looked very different, however.
In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton defeated former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy by about 7% of the votes. While his alignment with the Trump administration probably didn’t help, Ramaswamy faced bipartisan condemnation after running a controversial ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, whose husband was indicted for raping Acton during her childhood.
In Oklahoma, Democratic House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, who is Korean, lost to Republican Mike Mazzei by about 6% of the vote. Though Democrats made a surprise last-minute investment in her campaign, Trump’s low popularity wasn’t enough to flip the script for Munson, Oklahoma Voice reports.
And in Vermont, Bernie Sanders-backed Democratic challenger Amanda Janoo couldn’t edge out GOP incumbent Phil Scott despite running a platform that called for universal primary care free of charge, according to Vermont Public.
What to watch: Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman will serve as the city’s next mayor after beating incumbent Karen Bass.
The Democratic Socialist, who focused on housing availability and homelessness during her campaign, will be the first Asian American in the role and could open new doors for South Asian progressives, New Lines Magazine notes.
Raman’s victory also means Asian Americans now hold all three citywide elected offices.
Her rocky history with the local DSA chapter and the L.A. political establishment might pose some challenges along the way, per The Guardian.
Our Take
The combination of old and new AAPI officeholders, especially Democrats, gives our communities influence over whether the progressive or centrist wings will steer the party moving forward.
ON OUR RADAR
Designed by Andrew Peng/The Yappie. Photos: Wikimedia Commons and New York Times
K-pop is now mainstream in the U.S., but a new analysis of girl group NewJeans’ contract with label Ador—owned by South Korean entertainment conglomerate Hybe—has reignited criticism of the industry’s grueling work conditions.
A New York Times investigation revealed last week that standard child protection language was stripped away from the main contract even though it was signed when the members were ages 14 to 17.
Though Hybe said supplementary language would’ve implemented those protections, the story made me wonder: When such large power imbalances exist between employers and employees, what’s actually enough to protect workers?
That’s something to think about the next time I listen to “Ditto.”
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Founded in 2018, The Yappie is an independent, nonprofit news organization reporting on Asian American + Pacific Islander power, politics, and influence. Learn more.
