Trailblazers among Asian American Election Winners

By Jennie L. Illustre

Three stunning news greeted Asian Americans who stayed up late during the Nov.4 midterm elections, or woke up the morning after.

First, many Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) from both parties made history at the federal, state and local levels. Second, there were more Asian American Republican winners than Democratic victors. Third, Asian Americans voters favored the Republican Party for the first time, a 10-point increase from the 2010 midterm elections. “Wow-GOP wins Asian Voters by 1 point Nationwide, 50-49,” Politico’s top expert Alex Burns tweeted on election night , referring to the Grand Old Party.

This outcome means that the Asian American vote, heretofore favoring the Democrats, is now up for grabs as Republicans have successfully caught up with the get-out-the-vote edge of the grassroots expert and tech-savvy Democrats. The Hill reported the Republicans trace their electoral triumph to their “increased investment in voter data and technology,” which vastly improved their ground game.

The results also mean AAPIs, the nation’s fastest-growing minority group, continue the rising trend of empowerment and getting “a seat at the table” where policy is set and where laws are made, at all levels. Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) CEO/President Floyd Mori pointed out, “The 2014 November Elections marked another milestone for AAPI candidates at all levels of government. AAPIs continue to show they are electable in any kind of political climate.”

But APAICS noted the current landscape “is still not representative of the U.S. population,” considering that by 2050, AAPIs are estimated to make up 9% of the population. Mori stressed, “We need to continue to develop the political pipeline and foster greater civic engagement in all forms from voting, community outreach, and leadership skills so we can continue to see new classes of AAPI political figures in 2016 and the years after.”

Trailblazers

The newly-elected Members of Congress include Ted Lieu (D, CA), Mark Takai (D, HI) and Aumua Amata (R, AS), daughter of Peter Tali Coleman, American Samoa’s first elected governor. Lieu, a military veteran who gave up his seat as State Senator to seek higher office, is the first Asian American to represent California’s 33rd Congressional district in Los Angeles, California. Takai is a 20-year veteran of Hawaii’s House of Representatives and a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard.

When Republican Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen became the first woman to represent American Samoa as a non-voting Congressional delegate, Republican National Committee’s Asian Pacific American Press Assistant Ninio Fetalvo wasted no time in touting the win. Fetalvo was one of this writer’s election news sources. Dedicated, tireless AAPI staffers like him and enthusiastic AAPI volunteers were a major factor in the Republican Party’s historic “wave.”

Fetalvo emailed, “Congresswoman-elect Radewagen will be the highest-ranking elected Republican Asian Pacific American officeholder in the country.” Radewagen defeated longtime incumbent Congressman Faleomavaega Eni.

APAICS CEO/President Mori noted the other “firsts” posted by Asian Americans. Stephanie Chang is the first Asian American woman member of Michigan’s House of Representatives. Rady Mom is the first Cambodian American in Massachusetts House of Representatives. Ervin Yen, is the first Asian American to win a seat in Oklahomas state legislature. Pramila Jayapal of Seattle is the first Indian-American and only woman of color in Washington’s State Senate.

Winners’ Circle

In the national scene, APAICS welcomed the newly-elected AAPI Members of Congress and the AAPI Democratic incumbents to the 114th Congress, including Senator Mazie Hirono (HI), a 2013 trailblazer; veteran Congressman Mike Honda (CA-15), who defeated fellow Democrat Ro Khanna in one of his toughest elections this year; Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC); Congressman Bobby C. Scott (VA) Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL); Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY); Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA); Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA); Mark Takano (CA) and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI). Democratic Congressman Ami Bera was declared the winner of California’s 7th Congressional District on Nov.19. Earlier that day, another Democrat, Congressman Jim Costa, won a sixth term in San Joaquin District.

The 114th Congress,which opens on January 3 next year, will be controlled by Republicans. The GO Penjoysa 52-seat majority in the 100-member Senate. Democrats lost a dozen seats in the House, raising the Republican majority to 243.

The RNC also took pride in state and local candidates with inspiring stories who added luster to the party’s brand. It quoted a Voice of Orange County article in California which said the “bastion of white establishment conservatives” now has a new face. Five Asian Republican women won their races in Orange County, the newspaper reported, adding: “Supervisor Janet Nguyen, whose family fled Vietnam as refugees, won a seat in the State Senate. “Former Congressional aide Young Kim, a South Korean immigrant, and Diamond Bar councilwoman Ling-Ling Chang, a Taiwanese American, were both elected to the State Assembly. Korean-born Board of Equalization member Michelle Park Steel and Dana Point Mayor Lisa Bartlett, a Japanese-American, also won seats on the Board of Supervisors.”

The 2015 class of elected state officials includes 95 AAPIs in 19 states, according to APAICS (www.apaics.org). Of this figure, nearly seven in ten are males and 31% are women. Incumbent South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) won a second term with 56% of the vote. Haley is the first woman to serve as Governor in the state and is one of the nation’s two sitting Indian American governors.

David Ige (D) won as Hawaii’s Governor, garnering nearly 50% of the vote. Shan Tsutsui (D) is the new Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii. In California, four AAPIs were elected to statewide offices and courts. Indian American Kamala Harris won a second term as Attorney General of California. Chinese American John Chiang was elected as State Treasurer and Betty Yee won as State Controller. Goodwin Liu’s nomination to the State Supreme Court was approved by California voters. In Utah, Filipino American Sean D. Reyes (R) was elected to his first full-term as Attorney General. He is the first ethnic minority of any race to hold a statewide office in Utah.

Other GOP winners

While noting that results for some races were not yet known, RNC Asian Pacific American Press Assistant Ninio Fetalvo enumerated the other GOP winners. They are: Guam Governor Eddie Calvo, Arizona State Sen. Kimberly Yee; Connecticut State Sen.-elect Tony Hwang and Oklahoma State Sen.-elect Ervin Yen. State House/Assembly: California Assemblywoman-elect Ling-Ling Chang and California Assemblywoman-elect Young Kim; Colorado State Rep. Janak Joshi; Connecticut State Rep. Prasad Srinivasan; Georgia State Rep. B.J. Pak. Hawaii: State Rep. Beth Fukumoto Chang, State Rep. Aaron Ling Johanson, State Rep. Lauren Matsumoto, State Rep.-elect Feki Pouha, and State Rep.-elect Andria Tupola; Massachusetts State Rep. Donald Wong; Ohio State Rep.-elect Niraj Antani; Texas State Rep. Angie Chen Button; Tennessee State Rep.-elect Sabi Kumar, and Utah State Rep. Curtis Oda.

Other winners are Tarrant County, Texas Commissioner Andy Nguyen, County Civil Court at Law #2 Judge Theresa Chang, San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate, and Cajon Valley Unified School District Board Member-elect Jo Medina-Alegria.