For the country’s largest state, Clinton is not leaving anything to chance and is making a concerted effort to win over the Asian American and Pacific Islander vote. The problem is that even though there are about 3 million eligible AAPI voters in the state, in 2012 only 545,000 actually voted, according to a study conducted by UC Davis Center for Regional Change. AAPI voters have the lowest turnout rate among ethnic groups.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is scheduled to officially announce it is endorsing Clinton Tuesday during a news conference in Los Angeles. Among those scheduled to appear are Rep Judy Chu (D-CA) and Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA). Chu chairs CAPAC. The endorsement is not surprising since the group is made up largely of Democrats and has been supportive of President Obama’s legislative agenda.
Perhaps more importantly, a recent multilingual poll conducted between April 11 and May 17 on behalf of APIA Vote, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and AAPI Data found significant support from Asian Americans of Clinton.
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This is a turnaround of sorts for Clinton which has taken place over the last six months. A Gallup Poll released in December found that Sanders’ favorability rating was seven point higher than Clinton’s among Asian Americans. In the multilingual survey conducted during the last month on behalf of APIA Vote, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and AAPI Data, Clinton has a 62% favorability rating among Asian American voters compared to 48% for Bernie Sanders and 19% for Donald Trump.
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With the California race tightening, Clinton is continuing her aggressive efforts of courting the Asian American vote.
Hillary for America released two new ads for television and radio highlighting how Clinton will break down barriers for AAPI families by working to pass comprehensive immigration reform, ensuring that veterans get the care they need, and providing children with access to a good education. Hillary Clinton has laid out a comprehensive agenda to help AAPI families and has vowed to continue to stand up for the community.
The ads have started airing in California in Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese and Cantonese.
Here’s the “Our Community” television ad. Click on: Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese or Cantonese.
Listen to the radio ad in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese or Korean.
The “Our Community” television English translation:
Voiceover: There’s only one candidate for President endorsed by Asian American leaders across California…
It’s Hillary Clinton…
Hillary is determined to give every child a good education no matter where they come from…
Fix our broken immigration system…
And get our veterans the care they’ve earned.
Because Hillary knows America can’t reach its full potential unless we all do.
Hillary Clinton: I’m Hillary Clinton, and I approved this message.