Asian Americans to vote 54% for Biden, 30% for Trump: poll data

Almost half of Vietnamese Americans will vote to re-elect President Donald Trump Nov. 3, while two-thirds of Indian Americans will vote for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket, reports AAPI Data in new survey results released Sept. 15.

Overall, 54 percent of Asian Americans will vote for the Biden-Harris ticket, while 30 percent will vote for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Surprisingly 15 percent were undecided at the time of polling.

Similar data held for House and Senate races: 53 percent of AAPIs will vote for Democrats in House races, while 46 percent will vote Democrat in Senate races. Some 44 percent of Chinese Americans said they did not know who they would vote for in Senate races.

AAPI Data surveyed 1,569 registered voters across the nation, including 610 in California. The survey was conducted online and by telephone From July 15 to Sept. 9, with interviews conducted in English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese. The population surveyed included 306 Chinese Americans, 263 Filipino Americans, 264 Vietnamese Americans, 250 Indian Americans and Korean Americans, and 226 Japanese Americans.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing electorate in the U.S., doubling over the past decade, according to the Pew Research Center. More than 11 million are eligible to vote this year, about 5 percent of the overall voting population. The majority of Chinese Americans identify as Independents, while the majority of Vietnamese are registered Republicans. Indians, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos largely identify as Democrats.

John Yang, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said during a press briefing that Asian Americans have made a seismic shift in party affiliations since 1992, when most of the community voted for incumbent President George H.W. Bush, who was defeated by his Democratic opponent Bill Clinton.

There is a high level of enthusiasm for voting this fall: 54 percent of Asian Americans responding to the survey said they were more excited this year than previous years. Voter enthusiasm was highest among Filipino Americans and Indian Americans. More than a quarter of Chinese Americans surveyed said they were less enthusiastic this year.

Karthich Ramakrishnan, founder and director of AAPI Data, said during the briefing that Asian Americans will play a critical role in the presidential race in the states of Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. They will also play a pivotal role in Congressional races in Southern California, Texas, and New Jersey.

He noted, however, that despite the high level of motivation, neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party has done much to engage with the AAPI community. Only 12 percent of Asian Americans surveyed said they had been contacted by the Democratic Party: Indians and Japanese had higher levels of engagement with Democrats, while only 7 percent of Chinese and Vietnamese said they had been contacted by the party.

The Republican Party had even less engagement with AAPI voters: only 7 percent of those surveyed said they had been contacted by the party.

As a whole, the community supports bigger government, health care for all, regardless of immigration status, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Asian Americans also support rigorous gun control measures, and are more progressive on climate change. – Ethnic Media Services