April 19, 2024, 11:46 a.m.
The number of Asian American voters have skyrocketed in the last four years. The population grew by 15%—outpacing eligible Hispanic voters at 12% and the 3% growth rate for all eligible voters. This growth could bring an estimated 15 million Asian Americans to the polls come November.
Asian American voters have generally voted for Democratic candidates for the last few cycles. During the midterms, more than 60% voted for Democrats compared to just 32% for Republicans.
But this group isn’t a monolith. A majority of Vietnamese American voters, 51%, and foreign-born Asian voters, 56%, are more likely to affiliate with the Republican party.
These preferences could give Republicans an opening to court more inroads with this community.
Republicans have tried before, without much success. The RNC made a concerted effort to connect with majority-minority communities in 2022, Republicans aired ads about hate crimes against Asian Americans, and Asian candidates like Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA 45) demonstrated the power certain motifs can have with Asian American voters.
Steel, whose district has a large Vietnamese population, made headlines for running mailers against her 2022 opponent, Navy veteran Jay Chen (D), that depicted Chen photoshopped into a Communist classroom with a Chinese flag and an assortment of posters centered around race and gender. In Vietnamese, the flier said that “Jay Chen invited China into our children’s classes.”
Steel won with 52% of the vote.
Since then, however, the RNC has closed those outreach centers and hasn't made a concerted effort to appeal to this specific demographic in 2024—while President Biden’s campaign has.
Just like other key groups in the Democratic coalition, Asian Americans are frustrated with Biden. Not only do the majority of AAPI adults disapprove of Biden’s handling of the inflation and the economy, but immigration is a top priority for Asian American voters.
If Republicans can capitalize on the top concerns of this fast-growing voting bloc heading into November and beyond, Asian American voters may no longer be a minority group Democrats can reliably count on. This isn’t the largest minority voting group, but their influence could be critical in several swing states.
— Hannah Thacker
hthacker@nationaljournal.com
