21 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will be part of the 117th Congress when the new class is sworn in Sunday, setting a new record, reports the American Independent.
As AsAmNews previously reported, joining Congress for the first time will be Kai Kahele (D-HI), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Young Kim (R-CA), and Michelle Steel (R-CA).
They will join 17 incumbents including US Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) who were both reelected.
The class includes three delegates from the Pacific Islands, Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (I-Northern Mariana Islands), and Michael San Nicolas (D-Guam).
This is the third straight time a new Congress will include a record number of AAPIs.
This is despite the defeat of Asian American incumbents TJ Cox (D-CA) and Donna Shalala (D-FL) as well as challengers Gina Ortiz Jones (D-TX), Sara Gideon (D-ME) and Hiral Tipirneni (D-AZ).
“From this dataset emerges perhaps one of the least heralded stories that might just stand as one of the most important electoral trends behind the results: an unprecedented surge in participation among Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters,” political strategist Tom Bonier wrote.
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