Asian Americans in politics

(Note: Senators are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

(Note: Representatives are organized first in chronological order according to their first term in office, then second in alphabetical order according to their surname.)

{{incomplete list|date=November 2022}}

{{incomplete list|date=January 2022}}

Benito Legarda and Pablo Ocampo, joined the House in 1907 as Resident Commissioners,{{cite book |title=Biographical directory of the United States Congress, 1774 – 2005 |last=Dodge |first=Andrew R |year=2005 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-073176-1 |page=273 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9MBIctdjjkC&pg=PA273}} becoming the first Asian Americans to serve in the Congress, albeit as non-voting members.{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%26*2%404P%3C%3F3%0A |title=Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress |author=Lorraine H. Tong |date=7 July 2010 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |access-date=22 February 2011}}

File:Daniel Inouye, official Senate photo portrait, 2008.jpg of Hawaii was the President pro tempore of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking Asian American in congressional history.]] In 2010, Inouye was sworn in as President Pro Tempore making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history until Kamala Harris was the first Asian American to become Vice President of the United States in November 2020, and assumed the role of President of the U.S. Senate.

There are presently 16 Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders in the House and 2 in the Senate in the 118th United States Congress.{{cite web|url=https://pressgallery.house.gov/asian-americans|title=Asian Americans {{!}} House Press Gallery|work=United States House of Representatives Press Gallery|date=18 November 2020|access-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107232842/https://pressgallery.house.gov/asian-americans|archive-date=7 January 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/senators/asian-american-senators.htm|title=U.S. Senate: Asian American Senators|work=United States Senate|access-date=January 27, 2022}} The following marks the total number of Asian Americans in the U.S. Congress since 1957: 39 representatives and 9 senators. Representatives include those from Japanese, Taiwanese, Filipino, Thai, Indian, and Chinese backgrounds.

• Representatives Doris Matsui, Mark Takano, Jill Tokuda, and Senator Mazie Hirono are Japanese American.
• Representative Judy Chu is Chinese American.
• Representatives Grace Meng and Ted Lieu are Taiwanese Americans.
• Representative Bobby Scott is Filipino American.
• Senator Tammy Duckworth is Thai American.
• Representatives Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and Shri Thanedar are Indian American.{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Frances Kai-Hwa |author-link=Frances Kai-Hwa Wang |date=12 November 2014 |title=Midterm Elections: How Did Asian-American Candidates Fare |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/midterm-elections-how-did-asian-american-candidates-fare-n247296 |newspaper=NBC News |access-date=21 November 2014 }}
• Representatives Andy Kim, Michelle Steel, Young Kim, and Marilyn Strickland are Korean American.

Note that Strickland and Scott are all multiracial. Strickland is one-half Korean and one-half African American; Scott is one-fourth Filipino and three-fourths African American.

File:Norman Mineta, official portrait, DOT.jpg, first Asian American cabinet member]]

Norman Mineta became the first Asian American Cabinet member when he was appointed secretary of commerce by President Bill Clinton in 2000. He then served as secretary of transportation from 2001 to 2006.{{cite news |title=Profile: Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta: Only Democrat in President George W. Bush's Cabinet Asked to Stay On |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Inauguration/story?id=122140 |newspaper=ABC News |date=13 January 2005 |access-date=22 February 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110129074038/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Inauguration/story?id=122140| archive-date= 29 January 2011 | url-status=live}}

In the George W. Bush Administration, Elaine Chao became the first, and thus far only, Asian American woman to serve as a Cabinet secretary when she became the secretary of labor in 2001, serving until 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.chinatownconnection.com/elaine-chao-houston-chinese.htm |title=U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao Visits Houston Chinese Community Center |date=28 April 2006 |publisher=ChinatownConnection.com |access-date=22 February 2011}} She has also served as secretary of transportation in the administration of Donald Trump in 2017, serving until her resignation in 2021.

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Eric Shinseki to the position of secretary of veterans affairs, which he held until 2014. Shinseki was the first Asian American to hold this position. Steven Chu, the first Asian American to hold the position of secretary of energy, served from 2009 to 2013. Additionally under Obama, Gary Locke served as secretary of commerce from 2009 to 2011.

In 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Nikki Haley the first Indian American to serve in a permanent Cabinet-level position when she was confirmed to the position of ambassador to the United Nations in 2017. She held the position until 2018.

In 2021, Kamala Harris became the highest ranking Asian-American to serve in a cabinet as 49th Vice President of the United States. President Joe Biden also appointed Katherine Tai to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position.

File:Kamala Harris Vice Presidential Portrait.jpg, 2021]]

In 1964, Hiram Fong, a Republican, became the first Asian-American candidate for president.{{cite web|url=https://senatorfong.com/ |title=Senator Hiram L. Fong – first Asian American to serve in the United States Senate |publisher=Senatorfong.com |access-date=2020-02-26}}{{cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=f000245 |title=Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress – Retro Member details |publisher=Bioguideretro.congress.gov |access-date=2020-02-26}}

In 1972, Patsy Mink became the first Asian-American Democratic candidate for president, and the first Japanese-American candidate for president.{{cite web |url=http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/05/patsy_takemoto.php |title=Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927–2002) |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071220074252/http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/05/patsy_takemoto.php |archive-date=2007-12-20 |url-status=dead |date=2007-12-20}}

In 2015, Bobby Jindal, a Republican, became the first Indian-American candidate for president.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/06/24/bobby-jindal-to-announce-presidential-plans-wednesday/ | title=Bobby Jindal announces entry into 2016 presidential race | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=June 24, 2015 | access-date=June 24, 2015 |author1=Fahrenthold, David A. |author2=Hohmann, James }}{{cite web|title=Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Becomes First Asian-Indian to Run for President|url=http://nation.foxnews.com/2015/06/24/louisiana-gov-bobby-jindal-becomes-first-asian-indian-run-president|website=Fox News|access-date=25 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626110911/http://nation.foxnews.com/2015/06/24/louisiana-gov-bobby-jindal-becomes-first-asian-indian-run-president|archive-date=2015-06-26|url-status=dead}}

In 2017, Andrew Yang became the first Taiwanese-American and the first Asian-American male Democratic candidate for president.{{cite web|url=https://achonaonline.com/news/2020/02/andrew-yang-the-first-asian-american-to-run-for-the-democratic-presidential-nomination-exits-race/ |title=Achona | Andrew Yang, the First Asian American to Run for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, Exits Race |publisher=Achonaonline.com |date=2020-02-12 |access-date=2020-02-26}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1135446 |title=Andrew Yang's run is over, but its significance for Asian Americans will linger, experts say |date=12 February 2020 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=2020-02-26}}

In 2020, Tulsi Gabbard, who is of Samoan descent {{Cite web|last=Medenilla|first=Klarize|date=2019-08-17|title=In conversation: Tulsi Gabbard wants to restore America as a model for diplomacy, equality —|url=https://www.asianjournal.com/usa/dateline-usa/in-conversation-tulsi-gabbard-wants-to-restore-america-as-a-model-for-diplomacy-equality/|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Asian Journal News|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Finding Your Roots: Roots in Politics|url=https://www.pbs.org/video/roots-in-politics-gdlisx/|website=PBS KERA}} became the second woman of color and the first Asian-American and Pacific-Islander (AAPI) presidential candidate to earn major party primary delegates.{{Cite web|last=Peterson|first=Beatrice-Elizabeth|date=2020-08-18|title=Earlier this year, @TulsiGabbard made history as the first Pacific Islander American woman to win a delegate to the DNC. The last woman of color to win a delegate as a presidential candidate was New York Rep. Shirley Chisholm in 1972. #DNC2020 #Dem Convention|url=https://twitter.com/MissBeaE/status/1295911669764370432|website=Twitter}}{{Cite web|last=Peterson|first=Beatrice|title=Why Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is continuing her bid for president|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hawaii-rep-tulsi-gabbard-continuing-bid-president/story?id=69412140|access-date=2021-02-05|website=ABC News|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Fung|first=Katherine|date=2020-08-21|title=Tulsi Gabbard, the only non-white Dem candidate with primary delegates, confirms she was not invited to DNC|url=https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-only-non-white-dem-candidate-primary-delegates-confirms-she-was-not-invited-dnc-1526776|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Newsweek|language=en}}

In 2020, Kamala Harris became the first Asian-American major party candidate for vice president, and later elected the first Asian-American vice president of the United States.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/2020-election-biden-vp-pick/index.html |title=Kamala Harris is Joe Biden's Running Mate|publisher=CNN |date=2020-08-11 |access-date=2020-08-11}}

From the 1940s to the 1990s most Asian Americans were anti-communist refugees who had fled mainland China, North Korea or Vietnam, and were strongly anti-Communist. Many had ties to conservative organizations.William Wei, The Asian American movement (1993) pp 16, 226, 274 In recent years, more liberal Asian American groups such as newer Chinese and Indian immigrants have greatly changed the Asian American political demographics, as well as a larger proportion of younger Asian Americans, many of whom have completed college degrees.William Wei, The Asian American movement (1993) pp 170, 274

During the 1990s and 2000s, Asian American voting behavior shifted from moderate support for the Republican Party to stronger support for the Democratic Party.{{Cite news|url=http://prospect.org/article/how-asian-americans-became-democrats-0|title=How Asian Americans Became Democrats|newspaper=The American Prospect|access-date=22 October 2016}} In the 1992 presidential election Republican George H. W. Bush received 55% of the Asian-American vote compared to 30% for Democrat Bill Clinton. Asian Americans voted Republican and were the only racial group more conservative than whites in the 1990s, according to surveys.Jeffrey D. Schultz, ed., Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics (2000) Volume 1 pp 261–62 By the 2004 election, Democrat John Kerry won 56% of the Asian American vote, with Chinese and Indian Americans tending to support Kerry, and Vietnamese and Filipino Americans tending to support George Bush.Jim Lobe, [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI16Aa01.html Asian-Americans lean toward Kerry] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080919024923/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI16Aa01.html |date=19 September 2008 }}, Asia Times. 16 September 2004. Japanese-Americans leaned toward Kerry, while Korean-Americans leaned toward Bush. Democrat Barack Obama won 62% of the Asian American vote in the 2008 presidential election,[http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html Election results, America Votes 2004], CNN;

^ [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1 Exit Polls], CNN. with the margin increasing during the 2012 presidential election, where Asian Americans voted to re-elect Obama by 73%.{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/exit-polls-show-asian-americans-backed-obama-by-wide-margin/1540974.html|title=Exit Polls Show Asian Americans Backed Obama by Wide Margin|publisher=Voice of America|author=Hilburn, Matthew|date=7 November 2012|access-date=10 November 2012}} In the 2014 midterm elections, based on exit polls, 50% of Asian Americans voted Republican, while 49% voted Democrat; this swing toward voting for Republicans was a shift from the strong Democratic vote in 2012, and had not reached 50% since 1996.{{cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Seth |date=9 November 2014 |title=GOP makes big inroads with Asian voters in midterms |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/9/asian-vote-breaks-for-republicans-in-midterms/?page=all |newspaper=The Washington Times |access-date=13 March 2015 }} The 2016 National Asian American Survey, conducted before the 2016 presidential election, found that 55% of Asian American registered voters supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and only 14% supported Republican candidate Donald Trump.{{cite web|url=http://naasurvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/NAAS2016-Oct5-report.pdf|title=Report on Registered Voters in the Fall 2016 National Asian American Survey|last1=Ramakrishnan|first1=Karthick|last2=Wong|first2=Janelle|date=5 October 2016|publisher=National Asian American Survey|access-date=5 October 2016|last3=Lee|first3=Taeku|last4=Lee|first4=Jennifer}}

Despite their growing trend of voting for Democrats in national elections, Asian Americans have tended to identify as independents and have not developed strong ties to political parties as a group.{{cite book|url=http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9468.html|title=Hajnal, Z.L. and Lee, T.: Why Americans Don't Join the Party: Race, Immigration, and the Failure (of Political Parties) to Engage the Electorate. (eBook and Paperback)|website=press.princeton.edu|date=27 February 2011|isbn=9780691148793|access-date=22 October 2016|last1=Hajnal|first1=Zoltan L.|last2=Lee|first2=Taeku|publisher=Princeton University Press }} Due to the smaller size of the groups population, in comparison to the population as a whole, it has been difficult to get an adequate sampling to forecast voter outcomes for Asian Americans.{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Taeku |title=Asian Americans and the Electorate |url=http://www.apsanet.org/content_5154.cfm |publisher=American Political Science Association |access-date=23 August 2009}} In 2008, polls indicated that 35% considered themselves non-partisan, 32% Democrats, 19% independents, and 14% Republicans.{{cite news|first=Rex |last=Feng |title=Who Is The Asian American Voter? |url=http://www.asianweek.com/2008/10/24/who-is-the-asian-american-voter/ |publisher=AsianWeek |date=24 October 2008 |access-date=23 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209220954/http://www.asianweek.com/2008/10/24/who-is-the-asian-american-voter/ |archive-date=9 February 2009 }} The 2012 National Asian American Survey found that 51% considered themselves non-partisan, 33% Democrats, 14% Republicans, and 2% Other;{{cite news|title=Asian-American voters a force in November election |author=Jerry Large |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/jerrylarge/2019270993_jdl27.html |newspaper=The Seattle Times |date=26 September 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116204829/http://seattletimes.com/html/jerrylarge/2019270993_jdl27.html |archive-date=16 January 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://naasurvey.com/resources/Home/NAAS12-sep25-election.pdf |title=Public Opinion Of a Growing Electorate: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2012 |author=Karthick Ramakrishnan |author2=Taeku Lee |date=8 October 2012 |publisher=The National Asian American Survey |access-date=19 November 2012}} Hmong, Indian, and Korean Americans strongly identified as Democrats, and Filipino and Vietnamese Americans most strongly identified as Republicans. In 2013, according to the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Chinese Americans were the least likely Asian American ethnicity to have a party affiliation, with only one third belonging to a party.{{cite news |title=Asian-American Vote Reveals Nuances |author=Matthew Hilburn |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/polling-asian-americans-nuanced/1586148.html |newspaper=Voice of America |date=17 January 2013 |access-date=25 January 2013 |quote=Chinese-Americans were the least likely to affiliate with a party. Magpantay suggested that only one third of Chinese-Americans belong to a party, compared with 71 percent among all Asian-Americans, because of the negative association of the word party with the Communist Party in China. }} The 2016 National Asian American Survey found that 41% of Asian Americans identified as non-partisan, 41% as Democrats (a modest increase from 2008 and 2012), and 16% as Republicans.

Neither the Republican nor Democratic parties have financed significant efforts to the registration of Asian Americans, however much more attention has been focused on contributions from Asian Americans,{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today, Volume 1 |last=Chen |first=Edith Wen-Chu |editor=Grace J. Yoo |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-34751-1 |page=722 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R_t3yQiWKQEC&pg=PA722}} having once been referred to as potential "Republican Jews".{{cite journal|last1=Cho |first1=Wendy K. Tam |year=2002 |title=Tapping Motives and Dynamics behind Campaign Contributions: Insights from the Asian American Case |journal=American Politics Research |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=347–383 |doi=10.1177/1532673X02030004001 |s2cid=154904550 |url=http://scholar.google.com/ |access-date=19 March 2011 }} As recently as 2006, the outreach efforts of America's two major political parties have been unbalanced, with the Democratic Party devoting more resources in attracting Asian Americans.{{cite web|url=http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/asian/politics_law/ikeda_asian_republicans_1006.asp |title=Has the GOP Given Up on Asian Americans? |author=Stewart David Ikeda |publisher=IMDiversity Inc. |access-date=22 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227073828/http://imdiversity.com/Villages/Asian/politics_law/ikeda_asian_republicans_1006.asp |archive-date=27 December 2010 }} In 2016, a majority of Asian-Americans possessed the same political views on racial profiling, education, social security, and immigration reform as the Democratic Party; the efforts to attract Asian-Americans has produced a proportionally significant growth in Democratic affiliation by Asian-Americans from 2012 to 2016 by 12 percent.{{cite web|url=http://www.apiavote.org/sites/apiavote/files/Inclusion-2016-AAVS-final.pdf|title=Inclusion, Not Exclusion|date=22 May 2016|website=apiavote.org|publisher=Asian-American Voter Survey(AAVS)|access-date=29 September 2016}} In 2016, Vietnamese and Filipinos were the least likely Asian Americans to support the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, with Vietnamese the most likely to back the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.{{cite news |last=Guillermo |first=Emil |date=20 April 2017 |title=Asian American study of '16 polls shows Fil-Ams' conservative streak |url=http://usa.inquirer.net/3032/asian-american-study-16-polls-shows-fil-ams-conservative-streak |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |access-date=12 April 2018 }} Political affiliation aside, Asian Americans have trended to become more politically active as a whole, with 2008 seeing an increase of voter participation by 4% to a 49% voting rate.{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Edwards |title=Voter Turnout Increases by 5 Million in 2008 Presidential Election |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/voting/cb09-110.html |work=U.S. Census Bureau News |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |date=20 July 2009 |access-date=26 July 2010 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20101020013217/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/newsroom/releases/archives/voting/cb09%2D110%2Ehtml |archive-date=20 October 2010 |url-status=dead }} In 2017, it was reported by The Washington Post that Asian Americans born outside of the United States trended to be more conservative, and more likely to identify as Republicans, while those who were born in the United States, who were generally younger, were more likely to identify being a Democrat.{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Janelle |date=23 May 2017 |title=This is what Asian Americans really think about undocumented immigration |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/05/23/this-is-what-asian-americans-really-think-about-undocumented-immigration/?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=12 April 2018 }}
{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Esther |date=11 October 2017 |title=Conservative Chinese Americans are Mobilizing, Politically and Digitally |url=https://psmag.com/social-justice/conservative-chinese-americans-are-mobilizing-politically-and-digitally |work=Pacific Standard |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=The Social Justice Foundation |access-date=12 April 2018 }}

The pejorative term boba liberalism exists as a criticism of mainstream Asian American liberal politics or those perceived to be part of an Asian American liberal elite.{{cite web |last1=Frias |first1=Lauren |title=Boba liberalism: How the emergence of superficial activism could cause more harm than good to the AAPI community |url=https://www.insider.com/boba-liberalism-critique-on-a-shallow-political-identity-amid-crisis-2021-3 |website=Business Insider |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240911015723/https://www.businessinsider.com/boba-liberalism-critique-on-a-shallow-political-identity-amid-crisis-2021-3 |archive-date=11 September 2024 |access-date=8 January 2025 |date=6 May 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Chao |first1=Mary |date=22 November 2022 |title=How did trendy boba tea become a symbol for liberal, upper-class Asians? |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/2022/11/25/boba-liberals-the-derisive-term-for-privileged-asian-liberals/69672282007/ |access-date=8 January 2025 |work=The North Jersey Record |location=New Jersey |publisher=Gannett Company}}{{cite web |last1=Zhang |first1=Jenny G. |date=5 November 2019 |title=How Bubble Tea Became a Complicated Symbol of Asian-American Identity |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/11/5/20942192/bubble-tea-boba-asian-american-diaspora |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=Eater |language=en |quote=While bubble tea itself is neither inherently political nor bad, per se, some Asian Americans are critical of the dominant strain of Asian-American politics, called "boba liberalism," that the drink has come to represent in certain circles. Boba liberalism — is the “substanceless trend-chasing spectacle” that is mainstream Asian-American liberalism, derided as shallow, consumerist-capitalist, and robbed of meaning.}}

• Ethnocultural politics in the United States
• 80-20 Initiative
• Asian American and Pacific Islands American conservatism in the United States
• List of Asian Americans in politics
• List of Asian Pacific American Democrats

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|author=Angela D. Dillard|title=Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Now?: Multicultural Conservatism in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lA-O2MKgEqYC|date=1 February 2001|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-2120-9}}
• {{cite book|author1=Pei-te Lien|author2=M. Margaret Conway|author2-link=Mary Margaret Conway|author3=Janelle Wong|title=The Politics of Asian Americans: Diversity and Community|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x-OSAgAAQBAJ|date=June 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-95230-3}}
• {{cite book|author1=Andrew Aoki|author2=Okiyoshi Takeda|title=Asian American Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oHFzgZL47Y8C|year=2008|publisher=Polity|isbn=978-0-7456-3446-3}}
• Tanika Raychaudhuri. 2020. "Socializing Democrats: Examining Asian American vote choice with evidence from a national survey." Electoral Studies.

{{Asian topic|suffix=Americans in politics}}

{{Asian Americans}}

Category:Asian-American culture

Category:American politicians of Asian descent

Category:Politics of the United States