Biden maintains lead among Asian American voters despite drop in support

President Joe Biden gestures during his remarks at Renaissance High School during a Friday, July 12, 2024, campaign event in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

President Joe Biden continues to outpace his challenger, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, among Asian American voters, but support for the incumbent has dropped by 8 points from 2020, according to the 2024 Asian American Voter Survey released July 10.

The survey was conducted by AAPI Data, and released jointly by APIAVote, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

“Our survey explores critical aspects of Asian American voter engagement, an influential voting bloc which could be the margin of victory in many races,” said Christine Chen, executive director of APIA Vote, at a press briefing July 10.

Biden trumps Trump

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing electorate in the nation. In 2020, more than 7.6 million Asian Americans turned out to vote, an 11 percent increase over 2016.

If the election were being held today, 46 percent of Asian American voters surveyed said they would be inclined to vote for Joe Biden, versus 31 percent who would vote for Donald Trump.

In a major shift however, nearly one in four respondents said they would vote for a third party candidate, or remain undecided. Chen said this a huge untapped opportunity, up for grabs by either party.

In down ballot races, 50 percent of Asian Americans said they would vote for Democrats in congressional races, while 30 percent said they would vote for Republicans.

Top concerns

68% of Asian Americans surveyed said they absolutely planned to vote in November. Filipino Americans were the most committed: 75 percent said they would absolutely vote, while Japanese Americans ran a close second with 73 percent.

“The last few years have been full of intense changes for everyone, Asian Americans in particular,” said John Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice|AAJC. “As a community we have faced anti-Asian rhetoric, harassment, and threats to our livelihood, and as a result Asian Americans are more engaged than ever,” he said in an interview with Ethnic Media Services shortly after the survey was released.”

Top concerns for Asian American voters in the upcoming election are the economy, education, national security and immigration, said Yang. “Elected officials owe it to the communities they serve to listen actively and support policies that positively affect and support them.”

Will Biden support continue?

The survey was conducted from April 4 to May 26. A total of 2,479 registered voters participated, either by telephone interview, or a self-administered online survey. Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese voters were included in the survey. Several Southeast Asian and South Asian communities were not surveyed.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data, told EMS that the organization currently lacks the financial resources to survey all communities within the Asian American umbrella, but hopes to be able to do so in the future.

In the two weeks following a disastrous debate performance, Biden has faced a chorus of voices urging him to drop out of the race. Many have urged him to push Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket.

Asked if support for Biden would further diminish among respondents if the poll was retaken this month, Ramakrishnan said no.

Vietnamese American gains

“Biden lost support among Asian Americans well before the debate. And it doesn’t look like the debate has changed much of that dynamic,” he said, adding however that Trump has not gained from Biden’s loss. “What we saw was a significant jump in the people who say they want to vote for someone else. That said, Biden still beats Trump in a head-to-head match-up among Asian Americans.”

Biden lost ground most significantly with Indian Americans, with a 19 point drop. Just 46 percent said they would vote for the President this fall. In 2020, 65 percent of Indian Americans surveyed said they would vote for Biden. The President got the highest amount of support from Chinese Americans: 54 percent said they would vote for Biden, nearly consistent with 2020.

Biden also gained a small amount of traction with Vietnamese Americans, who traditionally vote Republican: 40 percent said they would vote for Biden, a jump of  4 points from 2020.

Trump support

Trump on the other hand lost significant ground with Vietnamese Americans: just 33 percent said they would vote for him this year, down from 48 percent in 2020, a drop of 15 points. Ramakrishnan attributed the trend to a younger, more progressive group of Vietnamese Americans. He noted also that Biden, like Trump, views China as an adversary, which resonates with the older generation.

Trump gained a few points with Asian Americans overall: the largest gain — 7 points — was among Chinese Americans. He also gained 4 points with Filipino Americans.

The Harris question

Harris’ favorability among Asian Americans was surprisingly low. Just 13 percent said they viewed the potential Presidential candidate favorably, while 31 percent viewed her somewhat favorably. 42 percent of Asian Americans surveyed said they viewed Harris unfavorably.

In a poll released July 9 by the firm Bendixen & Amandi Inc, Harris  slightly leads Trump: 42 percent to 41 percent. The survey showed 12 percent undecided and 3 percent support going to third-party candidates.

Ramakrishnan acknowledged a drop in support for Harris by Asian Americans, but added that could change in the course of the election cycle. “I think you’ll probably see another burst of activity and potentially another burst of pride if it looks like she will be a major party presidential candidate,” he said. (Ethnic Media Services)