Georgia's Asian American Voters Are Among Record Demographic Turnout

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When Joe Biden won Georgia in the presidential election, part of his winning margin may have come from Asian Americans.

NOEL KING, HOST:

They're believed to have turned out in record numbers. They are, in fact, the fastest growing demographic in the state of Georgia.

INSKEEP: They may be influential in the Senate runoffs that conclude today. And Asian Americans are not necessarily tied to one party.

STEPHANIE CHO: Asian Americans don't vote, like, Republican or Dem, right? They vote by issue.

INSKEEP: Stephanie Cho is executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta. She says a big issue in her community is the pandemic economy.

CHO: If you're an immigrant voter, most likely, you have a family member that owns a small business that is being dramatically affected by the pandemic.

KING: Long Tran owns a coffee shop in Atlanta, and he says Asian American voters want to hear plans from the Senate candidates.

LONG TRAN: For me and other small business owners, we're wondering, when do our employees get vaccinated? How do we plan with this next round of stimulus? We don't want to go through another shutdown blindly.

INSKEEP: Anjali Enjeti is co-founder of the Georgia chapter of They See Blue, which mobilizes South Asian voters. Enjeti says there's a lesson there.

ANJALI ENJETI: In Georgia, we have shown how important it is for campaigns to have very specific and particular outreach to various racial and ethnic groups. I mean, I've been passing out campaign lit this afternoon for Asian American voters that have multiple Asian languages on them. People feel like they are very seen by politicians. And these are communities that don't usually feel that way.

INSKEEP: She says the Georgia Senate candidates concluding their campaigns today should take note.

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