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AAPIs represent a small fraction of eligible voters in Michigan, but they remain one of the fastest-growing voter in the Great Lake state.
With Republicans and Democrats trading wins in the past two presidential elections, AAPIs will play a pivotal role in deciding which candidate will receive Michigan’s 15 electoral votes.
Voter demographics
While AAPIs represent 2.89% of the electorate in Michigan, AAPI voter eligibility has increased by 35.2% since 2012, according to AAPIA Data.
Out of the state’s 428,703 AAPIs, more than half are eligible voters.
Indian Americans make up the largest Asian ethnic group in Michigan with a population of 129,025, while Native Hawaiians make up the largest NHPI ethnic group with 3,965.
In the campaigns
- Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has launched several ads targeting AAPIs airing in battleground states like Michigan. One of the ads, titled “The Seal,” highlighted some of former President Donald Trump’s comments about COVID-19, which contributed to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country.
- The Harris campaign has hired Asian American voter engagement staff in the Great Lake State as part of their outreach strategy. “We are working to earn every single vote,” the Harris campaign’s AAPI spokesperson Andrew Peng told The Hill’s Yash Roy. “Our campaign has invested historic sums into paid media … and we are hosting frequent voter engagement events and activities to mobilize Asian American voters.”
- Harris also spoke in suburban Detroit alongside Oprah Winfrey in a town hall meeting, where she pitched her platform bolstering the economy and addressing gun violence, The Detroit News’ Craig Mauger and Jennifer Chambers write.
- Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump visited cities like Flint and Howell, pushing a tough-on-crime agenda with promises to deliver “law, order, safety, and peace,” Associated Press’ Isabella Volmert writes.
- “You used to be the capital of the world in cars. Today you’re an afterthought in cars,” Trump said in Flint. “We are going to bring so many auto plants into our country. You are going to be as big or bigger than you were 50 years ago.”
- In late October, Trump notably held a campaign rally in Michigan specifically focused on Arab American and Muslim voters, CNN’s Kate Sullivan and Gregory Krieg report. The Republican candidate, who was joined onstage by Muslim leaders, criticized Israel’s war in Gaza and promised peace and prosperity.
- “We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace—he promises peace, not war,” Imam Belal Alzuhairi, a prominent leader of Michigan’s Muslim community, said on stage. “We are supporting Donald Trump because he promised to end war in the Middle East and Ukraine.”
- Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance also spoke in Michigan with remarks that highlighted the economy and auto industry, CBS News’ Joseph Buczek reports.
- The economy is the single most vital issue for the AAPI voting group in elections, with 86% saying the economy is “extremely” or “very” important, according to a research poll conducted by the AAJC. Crime is also a top five priority for AAPIs, with 80% of voters saying crime is “extremely” or “very” important, according to a research poll conducted by the AAJC.
On the ground
APIAVote Michigan is hosting polling parties in various cities across the state, including Dearborn and Hamtramck. The parties serve as a hub to provide nonpartisan voter education and help Asian American voters better understand the election process.
“These events are a chance to come together, share in the excitement of voting, and support each other in shaping a future that reflects the needs and aspirations of our community,” per an APIAVote statement.
Language access is also crucial step in enabling Michigan’s AAPI community to participate more fully as residents in elections and policymaking, advocates say.
Rising Voices, a nonprofit organization developing the leadership of AAPIs for progressive policies in Michigan, helped pass the Meaningful Language Access to State Services Act, a landmark legislation that went into effect earlier this year and requires state agencies in Michigan to provide translation and interpretation resources to LEP residents.
“Sometimes people just don’t vote because of representation. They also vote because of the values the person represents and to have somebody that looks like them and represents the values that they have is very important,” Tania Ganguly, township trustee of Canton, Michigan, told the Michigan Advance when Harris first became the Democratic nominee.
Of note: Detroit, Michigan is where Vincent Chin died in 1982 after two white men assumed he was Japanese and beat him to death. The incident kicked off a nationwide movement for Asian American visibility.
The Yappie is your must-read briefing on AAPI power, politics, and influence, fiscally sponsored by the Asian American Journalists Association. Make a donation, subscribe, and follow us on Twitter (@theyappie). Send tips and feedback to editors@theyappie.com.
