Asian American representation on the political scene remains a work in progress.
While AAPI representation in Congress is at an all time high, overall community engagement by Asian Americans lags behind other communities.
Two Asian Americans are doing their part to change that.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Robert Lee Ahn “has a shot at becoming the only Korean American in Congress.”
36-year-old Kashoua “Kristy” Yang is in contention to be the first Hmong American woman to be elected judge in the United States. She’s running in Wisconsin against Scott Wales, 55, a lawyer and part time judge who has the backing of many in the legal profession, according to the Journal Sentinel.
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Ahn is running in Los Angeles to replace Xavier Becerra who was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown as Attorney General, replacing Kamala Harris who won her race for U.S. Senate.
Ahn is running in a district which includes most of LA’s Koreatown. An analysis of 10,000 mail in ballots already received shows that 25 percent come from voters with Korean surnames. Half of those voters did not vote in the March city election.
“I think people recognize the importance and historic nature of this election,” Ahn said. “I think there’s a hunger for a voice and there’s a palpable frustration of not being heard, not being properly represented, and I think that’s what we’re seeing in the early returns.”
Yang was just 6 when she came as a refugee from Laos. She has an answer for those who say she lacks experience.
“It’s the depth and breadth of your experience,” she said. “It’s not simply about length of service. What have you done with your time?”
(Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect photo of Ahn)
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