APAICS Lauds Winning Candidates in Primaries

By Jennie L. Ilustre

American candidates of Asian ancestry who won their recent Republican and Democratic primaries in Arizona, Florida, Rhode Island and New York were lauded by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS). The primaries determine the party’s nominees for the midterm elections on November 6.

APAICS is led by Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, who succeeded Floyd Mori in February as President and Chief Executive Officer. Exuding confidence in the battle-tested candidates’ prospects of victory on November 6, APAICS added in its congratulatory statement:  “We look forward to building the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) political pipeline with all of you!”

APAICS is “a national non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting Asian Pacific American participation and representation at all levels of the political process, from community service to elected office.”

Its programs focus on “developing leadership, building public policy knowledge, and filling the political pipeline for Asian Pacific Americans to pursue public office at the local, state, and federal levels.”

APAICS also recognized the efforts of candidates Mizan Choudhury (NY) and Kubs Lalchandani and Dushyant Gosai (Florida) “for running strong races.”

Official Candidates

Below is the latest list of American candidates of Asian heritage in the midterm elections. The list is refreshingly varied. It includes incumbent members of the US Congress (Representatives Ami Bera and Ro Khanna, both Democrats from California, among them), as well as newcomers. Anita Malik quit her job as the chief operating officer of the tech startup ClearVoice to run for Congress. Malik is one of 11 Indian Americans who won in their primaries, a remarkable political development indeed.

New York

1. Former New York City Comptroller John Liu won the Democratic primary in State Senate District 11.According to the Citizens Union, he is running for State Senate “to better implement progressive policies in his district.”

2. Taiwanese American Yuh-Line Niou, the New York State Assembly incumbent, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary in District 65. She first ran for the seat in the 2016 elections and won against five other candidates.

3. Assemblymember Ron Kim (D), 39, was first elected to represent District 40 in 2012.

4. Bangladeshi American Khorshed Chowdhury ran unopposed in the Republican primary for New York State Assembly’s District 54.

5. Green Party candidate Jia Lee won the primary for Lieutenant Governor. Lee is a special education teacher in New York City and a union activist. Among her priorities is the overhaul of the state’s education policies.

Florida

1. US Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a member of the Executive Board of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), won the Democratic Primary in Florida’s 7th district, capturing more than 85% of the vote.

2.  Sanjay Patel ran unopposed in the Democratic primary In Florida’s 8th Congressional district. He will face Republican incumbent Bill Posey in the midterms on November 6.

3.  Pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Zimmerman won the Democratic primary by 20 points in Florida’s 1st Congressional District.

Arizona

1. Hiral Tipirneni won the Democratic nomination for US House in Arizona’s 8th congressional district.

2. Indian American Anita Malik won the Congressional primary in Arizona’s 6th district in a nail-biter of a contest. According to the American Bazaar news report, Malik quit her job as the chief operating officer of the tech startup ClearVoice to run for Congress. She will face Republican Rep. David Schweikert, who won the Republican primary unopposed.

3.  Sen. Kimberly Yee, long-time Arizona lawmaker, won the Republican primary race for State Treasurer. She faces Democrat Mark Manoil in November.

Rhode Island

Mayor Allan Fung won the Rhode Island Republican Primary for Governor.

He has been mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island since 2009. He will face pro-business fiscal reformer Gina Raimondo (D) in the midterms.

Historic

This election cycle is unique.  At least 11 Indian Americans who won in their primaries are headed to the midterms, according to an American Bazaar news report. They include four incumbent congressmen: Ami Bera, and Ro Khanna, both Democrats from California; Pramila Jayapal, D-WA; and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-IL. Jitendra Diganvker (Illinois, district 6), who will face Krishnamoorthi in November, is the only Indian American Republican candidate in the list.

The other candidates are Aftab Pureval (Ohio district 1), Sri Preston Kulkarni (TX district 22), Chintan Desai (Arkansas district 1), and Sanjay Patel (Florida district 8).