Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
The community, exuding both pride and elation, is celebrating the historic victories of several Asian American men and women in the recent midterm elections.
“There’s been so many exciting historic firsts from this cycle, including Aruna Miller being elected as the first South Asian Lieutenant Governor in the nation, and Nabilah Islam as the first Bangladeshi woman elected to the Georgia State Senate, ”Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, President & CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), said in an interview.
AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore exuded exhilaration and pride as he announced that their endorsed candidates won, and declaring that “AAPI candidates across the nation have broken barriers.” (AAPI refers to the Asian American and Pacific Islanders.)
He noted the historic victories during the recent midterm elections.
In Maryland, Aruna Miller became the first South Asian woman elected as Lieutenant Governor.
Ruwa Romman was elected to become Georgia’s first Muslim woman in the State House, as well as the first Palestinian ever elected to any public office in the state.
Salman Bhojani became the first Muslim and first South Asian in the Texas legislature.
Chong “Paul” Kim was elected to become Mayor of Palisades Park, in a historic race where two Korean Americans representing major political parties faced each other in a mayoral general election for the first time.
Fil-American Trailblazer
Brendan Flores, National Chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), congratulated all the Asian American winners, including Filipino American Kenneth Mejia.
Mejia became the first Asian American to hold citywide office and the first Filipino American elected official in L.A., posting an impressive landslide victory in the city controller race.
In an email, Flores expressed pride and elation over Asian American historic wins. “Congratulations to all Asian Americans who won in the recently held elections. In particular, we celebrate those Filipino Americans who have broken barriers to being in elected office today. We are incredibly proud of all of you!” –
NBC News reporter Claire Wang wrote that many Angelenos see Mejia’s landslide victory over a centrist and City Hall veteran, Paul Koretz, as a rejection of establishment politics.
Mejia is an accountant and leftist community activist who ran on a progressive platform focused on decriminalizing homelessness and holding the police and other city departments accountable.
2 Asian Americans
A different historic race involved two Asian Americans competing for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In Orange County, California, NBC News writer Kimmy Yam reported that Republican Rep. Michelle Steel won re-election in a highly competitive race against a fellow Asian American, Democrat Jay Chen.
Steel made history in 2020 as one of the first three Korean American women elected to Congress, the report noted. Prior to her historic election, she was a supervisor and chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Progressives Win
The AAPI Victory Alliance congratulated the candidates it endorsed for the 2022 midterm elections cycle, expressing confidence in their dedication to public service.
“On behalf of the AAPI Victory Alliance, I am pleased to extend hearty congratulations to our endorsed candidates,” said AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Nikore.
“These candidates have shown their dedication to our four priority areas of importance: combatting mis-and disinformation, addressing climate change, protecting our democracy, and fighting for gun violence prevention,“ he stressed.
Dr. Michelle Au won in the Georgia State House race for District 50. Ranjeev Puri was elected to the Michigan State House in District 24. Samantha Sencer-Mura won as Minnesota State Representative for District 36A.
Nabilah Islam, Georgia State Senate for District 7; Dr. Arvind Venkat, Pennsylvania State for House District 30; Tarik Khan, Pennsylvania State Representative for District 194;
Salman Bhojani, Texas State Representative for House District 92; Dr. Suleman Lalani, Texas State Representative for House District 76; Francesca Hong, Wisconsin State Assembly for District 76;
Reena Szczepanski, New Mexico House of Representatives for District 47; Hoan Huynh, Illinois House of Representatives for District 13; Samuel Park, Georgia House of Representatives for District 107;
Ya Liu, North Carolina House of Representatives for District 21; and Maria Cervania, North Carolina House of Representatives for District 41.
Executive Director Nikore pointed out: “With these candidates soon assuming office, we are one step closer to advancing our values of inclusion and equity into policies that will support our communities.”
He added: “Make no mistake, AAPI candidates are leaders in their respective fields, passionate and dedicated in advancing inclusive values, and progressive priorities. We expect great things from everyone!”
Nikore lamented in an interview that Asian Americans represent only about 1 percent of the nation’s elected officials, adding this “soon will change.”
The Mainstream Media has been reporting about this lopsided representation. Terry Tang wrote that a study by Thape Reflective Democracy Campaign found that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up over 6% of the U.S. population–but less than 1% of elected offices.
