As Vice President Kamala Harris continues her quest to become the nation’s first person of Asian descent to be elected president, her campaign is increasing its focus on voters in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Georgia and other swing states.
Harris, who is Indian American and Black, is hoping the typically Democratic-leaning voting bloc will help push her to victory in November. Asian American and Pacific Islander voter turnout in Georgia increased by 84% between 2016 and 2020, more than in any other state in the country, according to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Data.
Harris’ campaign announced Wednesday that it plans to launch a more than $90 million targeted advertising buy during the last three weeks of August, with television and digital ads airing in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The ads will air online and on targeted television stations, such as the Filipino Channel and ATN Bangla, a Bangladeshi Bengali-language channel.
“I appreciate the Harris campaign doing everything in their power to earn every single vote,” said Georgia House Democratic Caucus Whip Sam Park of Lawrenceville. “Certainly, as we saw in 2020, the Asian American voters in Georgia turned out in droves, and we look forward to seeing that in November when we win Georgia again in coalition with all of our other (coalition) communities.”
The number of voters who identify as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders rose across the country between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. census, but the increase was among the biggest in Georgia.
In Georgia, 4.6% of the population is Asian American/Pacific Islander, according to census data. There are nearly 239,000 registered voters in Georgia who identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander.
“While the vice president continues to fight relentlessly to keep our families safe, Donald Trump actively encourages anti-Asian hate and remains an active danger to our families and freedoms,” Harris campaign spokesperson Andrew Peng said, referring to previous Trump statements such as calling COVID-19 the “kung flu” or the “China virus.”
Harris isn’t the only presidential political connection for Indian Americans. Usha Vance, the wife of Trump’s vice presidential pick, is also Indian American.
While Asian American and Pacific Islander voters skewed Democratic in the 2022 elections across the country, a higher proportion voted for Republicans that cycle than in 2018, according to exit polls. Steven Cheung, a senior campaign adviser for Trump, said there is “no bigger advocate” for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities than the former president.
“He created an environment where diversity, equal opportunity and prosperity were afforded to everybody,” Cheung said. “Anyone who says otherwise is disgustingly using the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community to play political games for their own benefit.”
