Heads up, politicians. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fast-growing group in the United States, and we're expected to vote in record numbers this fall. But according to a new poll, the AAPI community remains largely ignored and untapped by candidates and political parties.
The first-ever poll of AAPI voter attitudes, conducted by Lake Research Partners, shows that close elections in important states like Florida, Nevada and Virginia could go to the candidates who best engage AAPIs.
But few AAPI voters have been actively engaged by either party, leaving the door wide open for our community to define the debate: NEW POLL FINDS MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES IGNORE ASIAN AMERICANS, HUGE GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT REMAIN UNTAPPED
AAPIs identified overwhelmingly as Democrats in the poll - more than three times more than Republican - but less than a third were contacted by the Democratic Party in the last two years, while 37 percent of Republicans said they heard a great deal from their party over the same period. Independents barely heard from either party even though they are usually prime targets.Of course, if campaigns are truly listening, take note of these poll results, and still don't do anything to actively engage the AAPI community, then hey, at least we'll we know they really don't give a damn about us.
The poll's most dramatic findings were around AAPI's views about the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Nearly 3 in 10 said they have no opinion of Mitt Romney, leaving a lot of room to define him in this group. Although Asian Americans overwhelmingly like President Obama, with nearly three-quarters viewing him favorably, they feel much less so when it comes to his job performance. On the issues, Asian Americans aren't happy with the economic situation, but believe the country is moving in the right direction.
An overwhelming majority of Asian Americans surveyed - nearly five out of six - said they will vote this November and half of them are more enthusiastic than ever to vote, a trend that has continued from the last few presidential elections, Lake said.
There will be a briefing on the poll results next week in Washington D.C. For further information, and to view PDFs with detailed poll findings, go here.