Washington, D.C.–This year’s record number of 25 Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) congressional candidates, who come from both parties, could affect the balance of power in the next Congress, currently dominated by the Democrats.
The report was published in the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) website. Ten of the AAPI congressional contenders are on the national party committees’ radar screens as key races because they could alter the balance of power in the next Congress, the report noted.
They are Senate candidate Mazie Hirono, House candidates Ricky Gill, Ami Bera, Mark Takano,Tammy Duckworth, Manan Trivedi, emerging candidates Blong Xiong and Nathan Shinagawa, and Steve Hobbs and Darshan Rauniyar, who are vying for a seat in a crowded primary.
The candidates represent a large and diverse swath of the AAPI community. Eight are Indian Americans, four are Chinese Americans, three are Japanese Americans, two are Korean Americans, and a Hmong American, a Taiwanese American and a Native Hawaiian. Another three are mixed race. Four candidates are Republicans, with the remainder running as Democrats.
In addition to Asian American hub states like California, Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Texas, the candidates also hail from Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington.
The complete list of AAPI candidates follows: Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (D), U.S. Senate HI; Dr. Ami Bera (D), CA-07; Ranjit “Ricky” Gill (R), CA-09; Blong Xiong (D), CA-21; Otto Lee (D), CA-22; Justin Kim (D), CA-31; Sukhee Kang (D), CA-45; Jay Chen (D), CA-39; Mark Takano (D), CA-41; Vipin Verma (D), FL-06; Charles Djou (R), HI-01; Muliufi Francis “Mufi” Hannemann (D), HI-02; Tulsi Gabbard (D), HI-02; Esther Kia’aina (D), HI-02; Tammy Duckworth (D), IL-08; Dr. Syed Taj (D), MI-11; Upendra Chivukula (D), NJ-07;