Early polling first shared with NBC News shows that gun violence is a top issue for Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in Virginia ahead of the state’s November elections, in which parties will spar for legislative control.
Nationally, health care, the economy and education have long ranked among the most critical issues for AAPI to decide their votes. The community’s high focus on gun violence — ranking second as an issue in the poll — is significant, potentially aligning with a larger shift across the U.S.
“Education has been a prime issue in our community — it has been historically. But in the last two to three years there’s been a shift,” said Varun Nikore, executive director of AAPI Victory Alliance, the progressive organization that released the poll. “In my mind, [gun violence] is a sleeper issue going into the 2024 election, and it’s going to weigh in very heavily for 2023.”
Nathan Chan, an assistant professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University who teaches race and political behavior, said that gun safety has emerged as a priority likely due to the ways in which AAPI communities have been touched by mass shootings themselves, particularly those in California that occurred at the beginning of the year.
“The narrative has to do with violence in our own communities,” Chan said. “When we look at events that happened in Monterey Park, when we look at incidents specifically with Asian Americans that happened in Northern California, for example, that’s part of the story.”
Experts say Virginia’s Asian American electorate has become increasingly critical to candidates, with the population ballooning by 112% since 2000. Nearly a third of eligible AAPI voters in the state live in Fairfax County, according to AAPI Data. There, they constitute 16% of the electorate.
The poll, conducted by political strategy research firm Lake Research Partners in partnership with AAPI Victory Alliance, surveyed 600…
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