Asian Americans Feeling the Power
Asian Americans Feeling the Power
Ethnic Groups See Opportunity to Affect Outcome of Presidential Race in Va.
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 21, 2008; Page B01
Asian American voters in Virginia, highly organized and registered in record numbers, have become energized by the presidential race and the role they see themselves playing in this tightly contested state.
"This is the first time I've seen multiethnic coalitions forming around an election. The margin is razor-thin in Virginia, so we could still be a swing vote," said Nguyen Dinh Thang, executive director of SOS Boat People, a nonprofit group in Falls Church and a center for get-out-the-vote efforts, including phone banks and weekend canvassing. "Asian Americans realize this election is their opportunity to really get noticed."
According to leaders of the large, affluent communities of Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans and Indian Americans in Northern Virginia, sentiment among those groups favors Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), although Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) enjoys a core of loyal support among older Asian refugees who suffered at the hands of communist regimes.
There are more than 160,000 Asian American citizens of voting age in the state, and an aggressive registration drive is adding several thousand voters. Partisan activists and public interest groups said Asian Americans could play as important a role in this national election as they did in the 2006 Senate race in Virginia, when they helped Democrat James Webb, a Vietnam war veteran, defeat incumbent George Allen.
"Our community once shunned politics, but now the younger generation is very involved," said Il Ryong Moon, a Korean American lawyer and Democratic politician in Fairfax County, who remarked that many Asian Americans feel that Obama will "open the door" to minorities. "Virginia could be the state that decides this presidential election, and Asian voters here could determine its fate."
In Virginia and many other states, considerable attention has focused on the potential impact of African American and Hispanic voters on a historic and divisive presidential contest that includes the first-ever African American nominee and second female vice presidential nominee by a major party. Both groups are expected to favor Obama.
The nation's fast-growing Asian American population of nearly 15 million has been often overlooked as a political factor, even though in some states a higher percentage of Asians than Hispanics are U.S. citizens who can legally vote. Asian American voters also have a track record of high turnout in elections.
In Virginia, for example, the Hispanic populace, at more than 250,000, outnumbers Asian Americans. But most Hispanic residents are relative newcomers and a minority are U.S. citizens. By contrast, more than half of Asian American residents in the state are U.S. citizens of voting age. African Americans are by far Virginia's largest minority group. In 2006, blacks accounted for 19.9 percent of the state population; Hispanics, 6.3 percent; and Asian Americans, 4.8 percent.
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Ethnic Groups See Opportunity to Affect Outcome of Presidential Race in Va.
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 21, 2008; Page B01
Asian American voters in Virginia, highly organized and registered in record numbers, have become energized by the presidential race and the role they see themselves playing in this tightly contested state.
"This is the first time I've seen multiethnic coalitions forming around an election. The margin is razor-thin in Virginia, so we could still be a swing vote," said Nguyen Dinh Thang, executive director of SOS Boat People, a nonprofit group in Falls Church and a center for get-out-the-vote efforts, including phone banks and weekend canvassing. "Asian Americans realize this election is their opportunity to really get noticed."
According to leaders of the large, affluent communities of Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans and Indian Americans in Northern Virginia, sentiment among those groups favors Democratic Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), although Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) enjoys a core of loyal support among older Asian refugees who suffered at the hands of communist regimes.
There are more than 160,000 Asian American citizens of voting age in the state, and an aggressive registration drive is adding several thousand voters. Partisan activists and public interest groups said Asian Americans could play as important a role in this national election as they did in the 2006 Senate race in Virginia, when they helped Democrat James Webb, a Vietnam war veteran, defeat incumbent George Allen.
"Our community once shunned politics, but now the younger generation is very involved," said Il Ryong Moon, a Korean American lawyer and Democratic politician in Fairfax County, who remarked that many Asian Americans feel that Obama will "open the door" to minorities. "Virginia could be the state that decides this presidential election, and Asian voters here could determine its fate."
In Virginia and many other states, considerable attention has focused on the potential impact of African American and Hispanic voters on a historic and divisive presidential contest that includes the first-ever African American nominee and second female vice presidential nominee by a major party. Both groups are expected to favor Obama.
The nation's fast-growing Asian American population of nearly 15 million has been often overlooked as a political factor, even though in some states a higher percentage of Asians than Hispanics are U.S. citizens who can legally vote. Asian American voters also have a track record of high turnout in elections.
In Virginia, for example, the Hispanic populace, at more than 250,000, outnumbers Asian Americans. But most Hispanic residents are relative newcomers and a minority are U.S. citizens. By contrast, more than half of Asian American residents in the state are U.S. citizens of voting age. African Americans are by far Virginia's largest minority group. In 2006, blacks accounted for 19.9 percent of the state population; Hispanics, 6.3 percent; and Asian Americans, 4.8 percent.
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