Two major political action committees that claim to represent the interests of all Asian Americans have officially endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in this critical week leading up to California’s delegate-rich primary on June 7.
On Thursday, the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Victory Fund became the second such group to endorse Clinton.
The super PAC was co-founded just this year by longtime Democratic political operative — and big-time donor — Shekar Narasimhan.
“Asian Americans’ growing influence and political power is poised to play a major role in this crucial election,” Dilawar Syed, another AAPI Victory Fund co-founder, said in a statement sent to The Daily Caller.
“We repudiate the racial, ethnic and religious prejudices espoused by the presumptive Republican nominee,” Syed added. “By mobilizing the AAPI electorate across the state on June 7th, we will ensure Secretary’s Clinton victory in California.”
The super PAC’s announcement touted Clinton’s support for abortion on demand, mass legalization for illegal immigrants, a higher minimum wage, strict environmental regulations and new gun control measures.
The announcement also specifically observed that Clinton has pointedly reached out to American voters of Asian and Pacific Island heritage, and criticized “the xenophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric embraced by” businessman Donald Trump, the presumed Republican Party nominee.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination. (RELATED: Asian-Pacific Faction In Congress Endorses Hillary Clinton Ahead Of California Primary)
CAPAC is a federal political action committee which boasts several senators and U.S. representatives as members. The group is focused on promoting issues related to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The well-timed and consecutive pair of Clinton endorsements from the AAPI Victory Fund and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus come a week before next week’s California Democratic primary.
In 2012, notes National Public Radio, 73 percent of Asian Americans — and, presumably, tacked-on Pacific Islanders — voted for President Barack Obama. However, as a voting bloc, Asian Americans turned out at a rate of just 47 percent.
The margin of Obama’s 2012 win in important swing states was less than 5 percent, the AAPI Victory Fund notes, and Asian American voters make up more than 5 percent of the population in those states.
U.S. government estimates show that California is home to 6.1 million Americans of Asian descent. The Golden State boasts the nation’s largest Asian population.
“With our growing numbers, our political influence correspondingly increases, but it is up to our community to show the political establishment that we can deliver at the ballot box,” California state treasurer John Chiang said in the statement sent to TheDC.
Clinton leads socialist Bernie Sanders, her lone rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, by a count of 1,769 to 1,499 among traditional delegates. In the chase for Democratic superdelegates, Clinton is dramatically ahead — 541 to 43. (RELATED: Clinton’s ‘Spinal Tap’ Campaign Features Smaller Venues, ‘More Selective’ Appeal)
FiveThirtyEight, a website dedicated to statistical analysis, current gives Clinton a 96 percent chance to win the California primary.
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