In 2006, Asian Pacific American voters changed the course of American political history. The mobilization of the APA community in support of Jim Webb's Senate candidacy — a response, in part, to George Allen's unprovoked attack on a young Asian Pacific American — powered Webb's improbable campaign comeback. In fact, it was Webb's overwhelming margin of victory among APA voters that gave the challenger a narrow win over Allen — a win that literally shifted control of the U.S. Senate to the Democratic Party.
While the Virginia Senate race starkly demonstrated the incredible potential of APA political participation, it was a mere symbol of a broader, more powerful trend across the country. From California to New York to Illinois to Washington to Pennsylvania, APA voters are making their voices heard.
The APA community is once again poised to play a key role in the 2008 elections. And if you are an APA Democrat, you can make your voice heard right now.
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Spark Matsunaga served Hawai'i in the House from 1962-1976, and in the Senate from 1997-1990.
In 1964, Hawai'i's Patsy Takemoto Mink was the first Asian American woman elected to U.S. Congress.
Campaign buttons courtesy Ron Gunzburger, Politics1.com.
