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Dear Friend,
Thank you.

This election was painstaking and hard fought but so very worth it, and all because of YOU.

We wanted to give you a breakdown of just what YOU did:

*President Barack Obama was re-elected with 303 electoral votes!

National exit poll data suggests that 73% of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders voted for President Obama (4 more years!).
 

America's Opportunity Fund Candidates:

*Mazie Hirono (US Senate HI) became the first AAPI woman to serve in the US Senate

*Tammy Duckworth (Il-8) became first AAPI elected to Congress for Illinois and won with 54% of the vote

*Ami Bera (CA-7) still awaiting results

*Mark Takano (CA-41) became the first openly gay AAPI to serve in Congress and won with 56% of the vote

 

Other AAPI Candidates:

*Tulsi Gabbard became the first Hindu American elected to Congress

*Grace Meng became the first AAPI to represent New York City in Congress

 

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus:

*Rep. Mike Honda (CA-17) was re-elected with 73% of the vote

*Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-6) was re-elected with 74% of the vote

*Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) was re-elected with 63% of the vote

*Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (HI-1) was re-elected with 54% of the vote

*Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam) was re-elected

*Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (American Samoa) was re-elected

*Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (CNMI) was re-elected


*Here are some results from an election Eve Poll Conducted by the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development:

Asian American and Pacific Islander Electorate Influence Grows

With elections increasingly being decided by the narrowest of margins, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) represent a critical swing vote. Since 2000, AAPIs have experienced a 46% increase in population growth, representing 5% of the total U.S. population and making AAPIs the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. The AAPI population growth and potential influence is especially notable in key battleground states such as Arizona (95%), Florida (72%), North Carolina (85%), New Hampshire (80%), Nevada (116%), and Virginia (71%).  

The potential of the AAPI electorate, however, has remained largely overlooked by major political parties, despite voting trends. AAPIs have increasingly shifted from Republican to Democratic support over the past five presidential elections with 55% voting for George H.W. Bush in 1992, 43% voting for Clinton in 1996, 54% voting for Al Gore in 2000, 58% voting for John Kerry in 2004, and 62% voting for Barack Obama in 2008.

The influence of the AAPI electorate has become increasingly critical in key races in this year’s election and will remain influential into the future.

Asian American Election Eve Poll Overview

To complement this year’s unprecedented AAPI civic engagement efforts, National CAPACD and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), co-sponsored the Asian American Election Eve Poll, a joint project to create a more accurate report on the voting preferences of the Asian American electorate on Election Day.

The poll found that Asian Americans overwhelmingly voted for Barak Obama and Democratic Congressional candidates. Asian American voters continue to trend Democratic although, they do not strongly identify with either party. As with past elections, more than half of the Asian American voters polled were not directly contacted, which reinforced the important role of community based organizations in registering and getting out the vote.  

The economy and jobs are top priorities for Asian Americans, along with health care, immigration/civil rights and education. A large majority support federal programs to keep housing affordable. A majority also supports comprehensive immigration reform and twice as many Asian American voters support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants compared to those who oppose. Related to taxes and the deficit, a large majority do not believe that spending cuts alone will reduce the federal deficit, but instead favor raising taxes on the wealthy, or a combination of raising taxes and lowering spending.

Key findings:

Presidential Decision & Party Affiliation
-Asian Americans are overwhelmingly voting Democratic this election cycle – 72% of Asian Americans support Obama while 26% support Romney,  and 73% support a Democratic candidate for Congress while 27% support a Republican.
-Forty-seven percent (47%) of Asian Americans think that Obama “truly cares about the Asian American community” while only 14% feel the same about Romney.
-Asian American voters are not strongly aligned with either party – only 41% consider themselves a Democrat and 14% as Republican, while 29% identify as Independent.
-Fifty-one percent (51%) of Asian Americans were not contacted by any campaign, political party or community organization for this election. Of those who were contacted, 55% were contacted by Democrats, 38% by Republicans and 32% by a community organization.

Key Issues
-Top Concerns: Asian Americans are primarily concerned with fixing the economy and creating more jobs – with 58% reporting this as their most important issue. Other top priorities for Asian Americans include health care (20%), education (20%) and immigration (13%).
-Housing: Asian Americans overwhelmingly support affordable housing – with nearly 60% strongly or somewhat support expanding the existing federal program that helps low-income people pay their rent, and nearly 70% strongly or somewhat support a federal program to build new or rehab existing homes that low-income people can afford to rent.
-Health care: Sixty percent (60%) of Asian American voters support the government’s role in ensuring access to health insurance.
-Immigration:  A majority (57%) of Asian Americans strongly or somewhat support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, while 26% somewhat or strongly oppose the proposal.  
-Federal deficit:  In addressing the federal deficit, 14% of Asian Americans support a stand-alone policy of spending cuts, 26% favor raising taxes on the wealthy and 45% prefer a balanced approach of tax hikes and spending cuts.


We couldn't be prouder of our candidates, pleased with the results, or grateful to you, our supporters, for making this all possible. So thank you, for supporting, for contributing and for voting. We did it!

Sincerely,

America's Opportunity Fund