Can Democrats flip congressional seats in some of California’s traditional Republican strongholds, to help them retake the U.S. House? They’re pouring resources into seven congressional races in California, hoping to ride the potential “blue wave.” These swing districts include a growing base of Asian American voters, nearly a third of whom identify as independents. These votes will be important to candidates in California’s June primary since the top two vote-getters — regardless of party — will advance to the general election.
In several of these targeted districts, Asian Americans accounted for nearly 15 percent of the 2016 electorate. So how do Asian Americans lean?
For three of these districts, I examined their registration and voting patterns, finding that although many Asian Americans in the districts lean Republican, an unusually large percentage voted for Hillary Clinton. What might that mean for California’s primary next month? CONT.
Sara Sadhwani (USC), Monkey Cage