Asian American Voters Could Be Key Swing Voters of 2024

Good evening! Tonight, we’re looking at the role Asian Americans could play in the 2024 election. Amy Qin, a national correspondent who covers Asian American communities across the country, will take it from here. — Jess Bidgood

One thing you often hear about Asian American voters is that they primarily vote Democratic.

That’s been true since as early as 2008, the year that nationally representative surveys about Asian Americans were first conducted. And in 2020, Asian American voters cast ballots for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, then the president, by roughly two to one.

But look a little closer, and the data reflects a more complex picture.

While Asian American voters do mostly vote Democratic, they tend to have weaker party affiliation. So, as both parties work furiously to find persuadable voters in a presidential election that is widely expected to be close, Asian Americans could emerge as a target for both parties.

“Asian Americans are the quintessential swing voter group,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, the founder and executive director of AAPI Data, a research organization that focuses on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Asian American voters, a hugely diverse group with roots in more than 20 countries and numerous languages spoken, make up the fastest-growing eligible electorate in the country. They are starting to turn out in record numbers. And, crucially, neither party can take their support for granted.

Compared with the general electorate, Asian American voters are twice as likely to identify as purely independent, according to data from American National Election Studies and AAPI Data.