After Donald Trump was elected in 2016, I learned that Asian Americans had one of the lowest voter turnouts of any other racial demographic in the U.S. As an Asian American myself and a lifelong Democrat, I decided to help get more Asians to the polls. The electoral gains we’ve made since 2016 have been astounding.
Not long ago, US politics ignored Asian Americans, a group that makes up about 7% of the US population (around 22 million people). But the country’s fastest-growing racial minority group, with roots in more than 20 countries, are increasingly playing a pivotal role in election outcomes, especially for the Democrats.
The Asian American vote was essential for Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, when two-thirds of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) voted for him, while a similar percentage voted for Democratic candidates in the 2021 Senate run-off in Georgia.
