Deeply dissatisfied with Trump, Asian Americans chose Dems

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES – Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) showed wide support for progressive policies, with healthcare as a central issue in addition to the economy and immigration, according to a AAPI Civic Engagement Fund voting eve poll.

“The poll finds AAPI voters are alarmed with the direction the country is headed in and expressing their dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump, said fund director EunSook Lee in a press statement.“They are showing their power at the polls and through other forms of participation, which has contributed to the Democratic takeover of the House.”

The poll focused on six states with competitive elections (California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Nevada, and Arizona), a national survey of 70 House battleground districts with complete samples of Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, African-American, and white voters, and a national survey of Native American voters. The poll was based on randomly selected voters across the entire state, or congressional district, giving all voters an equal chance to participate.

AP FILE PHOTO

“Asian American and Pacific Islander voters headed into the 2018 midterms angry about the President’s words and deeds and clearly rejected the Republican Party’s politics of fear and division,” said Taeku Lee, managing director of Asian American Decisions.

“Continuing the trend of recent elections, AAPIs are now a very solidly Democratic bloc of voters. What’s new for AAPIs in 2018 is the unprecedented levels of civic engagement and voter mobilization,” Lee added.

Key findings for AAPI voters in battleground districts included:

• AAPIs voted for Democrats over Republicans by a margin of 70% to 25%
• 63% of AAPI voters disapproved of the job Donald Trump is doing
• 73% of AAPI voters in battleground districts encouraged friends or family to register and/or vote
• Top issues for AAPI voters in battleground districts included:
  • Health care cost/access – 33%
  • Improve economy/create jobs – 25%
  • Immigration/DACA – 19%

“The growing influence of this electorate is being noticed by parties across the political spectrum. In 2018, Republicans and Democrats reached out to AAPI communities in higher numbers than ever before,” said Geraldine Alcid, executive director of Filipino Advocates for Justice.

Full poll results available at https://aapifund.org/poll.