Gone are the days when there is only one minority candidate per race, at least in big diverse states such as California.
The SF Gate reports the 2014 election will feature more than half a dozen races where an Asian American candidate will face off against a Latino candidate.
One such race is for secretary of state featuring veteran State Senator Leland Yee against State Senator Alex Padilla (both pictured)
In some races, not a single candidate will be white.
“This is a reflection of the future,” said Lisa García Bedolla, of the Center for Latino Policy Research at UC Berkeley. “This is happening here 20 years ahead of the rest of the country.”
How will voters align themselves with these candidates? There’s evidence that Asian American voters won’t automatically vote for the Asian American candidate.
“You can’t just put an Asian American candidate on the ballot and expect to get all the Asian American votes,” Paul Mitchell of the firm Political Data said. “There is relatively little” evidence someone will vote for or against an Asian American candidate simply because of their race.
One exception may be in Garden Grover where there’s evidence the large Vietnamese American community will vote for the Vietnamese name, and not necessarily the party.
You can read how Latino voters differ from Asian American voters in SF Gate.
