By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
A breakdown by AsAmNews reveals that Asian American and Pacific Islander candidates are competing in at least 34 Congressional races today.
This as Kamala Harris runs for Vice President, the first Asian American to compete on a major party ticket in a general presidential election.
According to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, more than 300 AAPIs ran for office in the 2020 election cycle.
“We are proud of all the AAPI candidates that took the leap and ran for office this cycle,” said Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke , APAICS’s President and CEO. “Many of these candidates have gone through APAICS’ leadership and candidate trainings, and it is through the hard work of our staff and supporters that helped make these resources available. The diversity of these candidates shows us that there is great enthusiasm within our community to take part in public service, and we hope that this election will result in greater AAPI representation across all levels of government.”
Among those running in Congressional races, 16 are incumbents running for reelection in the House. Incumbents generally win reelection, but nothing is ever guaranteed. In 2016, Ro Khanna unseated Mike Honda in the race for the Congressional seat in California’s Silicon Valley. Honda had held that seat for 16 years.
Two Asian Americans are running for Senate seats. One is getting national attention.
Democrat Sara Gideon is up against Republican Susan Collins for the US Senate seat in Maine. Gideon ‘s father is Indian American. If she defeats Collins, whose seat is recognized as in jeopardy, she could help flip the Senate from red to blue, giving the Democrats control of Congress.
The other Asian American running for Senate is Mohammad Arif, who is running as an independent and a write-in candidate. He is considered a long shot against Republican incumbent Martha McSally and Mark Kelly, a Democrat. McSally’s seat is also considered in jeopardy. McSally was appointed to the seat after the death of John McCain. Arif could influence the race by taking votes from either McSally and Kelly. Arif is Pakistani American.
One other race of national significance is out of California. Proposition 16 would overturn the ban on affirmative action in college admissions at state public universities, as well as in public employment and government contracts. Polls shows Prop 16 has an uphill climb, but those polls are based on likely voters. With this year’s high vote by mail turnout, the definition of “likely voters” may have changed. Also a poll of those who already voted by the Capitol Weekly, found Proposition 16 is up by 7 points. However, the poll found most early voters are Democrats who are more likely to support Prop 16.
According to AAPI Data. enthusiasm is extremely high for this election and could surpass participation in past elections which has been considered low.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story.