Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
According to the census bureau, the number of Asian Americans registered to vote has doubled since the year 2000, making them a powerful force in modern politics.
Voters of Asian descent are credited with helping President Obama win the White House in the last two elections. Now, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton hopes these voters will help push her to victory as well.
She's launched an outreach program called AAPI, or "Asian-American Pacific Islanders for Hillary." The initiative was formally unveiled in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley yesterday.
Karthick Ramakrishnan is the associate dean of public policy at the University of California Riverside and founder of AAPI Data, an organization that gathers information on the Asian electorate.
A 2014 report from the organization states, “Given that the Asian-American electorate is still making up its mind on political parties, it is surprising to still find low rates of electoral contact.”
LA Times political analyst Cathleen Decker was at the AAPI for Hillary launch.
What role could the Asian electorate play in the primary elections and beyond?
Take Two put that question to Karthick Ramakrishnan.