The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) Independent Expenditure arm unveiled its first multilingual Asian television ads in California’s 39th congressional district on Tuesday. The ads—released in Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean—target Republican candidate Young Kim’s support for the pharmaceutical industry and Republican establishment.
The 30-second spots are part of the DCCC’s increasing outreach to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Earlier this summer, House Democrats released ads in Hindi and Chinese in Texas’ 22nd congressional district to boost Democratic hopeful Sri Preston Kulkarni, and blasted Republican congressional candidate Michelle Steel in a Vietnamese ad in California’s 48th congressional district—part of the DCCC’s $45,000 ad buy on Vietnamese language outlet VietFace TV.
The DCCC’s latest ad is titled “Lose” and accuses Kim of “only car[ing] about herself.” The narration emphasizes her complicity in her party’s actions to reduce health care coverage.
“Young Kim has lost so many political campaigns that she is willing to do anything to win, even if her actions mean Californians lose—from supporting her party’s relentless assault to cut health care coverage, to slashing Medicaid for our most vulnerable and elderly, to taking away protections for those with pre-existing conditions,” DCCC Spokesperson Darwin Pham told The Yappie. “Southern Californians cannot afford to lose their health care amidst the worst pandemic in recent history—and this includes the diverse AAPI community that has been disproportionately hit hard by this crisis. We are making sure everyone knows exactly where Young Kim stands.”
Kim is the first Korean American Republican woman elected to California’s legislature and represented the 65th Assembly district between 2014 and 2016. She ran in 2018 to represent the 39th district in Congress but lost to Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-CA). If she beats Cisneros in November, she will be the first Korean American woman to serve in Congress.
Kim’s campaign website shows that she advocates “market-based solutions” in health care. Her 2018 campaign opposed the Affordable Care Act. She calls single-payer proposals “extreme” and promises to reduce “unnecessary regulations.” Her 2020 website also states that she will fight to increase STEM education funding, increase border security, and reform the “broken” immigration system to ensure that children who travel to the U.S. without legal documentation are “treated fairly and with compassion.” She aligns with her party in opposing gay marriage and supporting reduced taxes.
As November nears, studies show that a vast majority of AAPIs have not been contacted by either of the two major political parties. This year, however, experts say the AAPI community may be the margin of victory, possessing voting power to decide a number of races at the local and national level. AAPI voters represent nearly a third of the population in California's 39th district, according to the DCCC, and are critical to success in November.
DCCC has brought on constituency organizers to increase outreach to the AAPI community. These organizers direct volunteers, run in-language phone banks, and conduct virtual outreach. The DCCC has also set up a Virtual Action Center to engage grassroots energy toward Democratic campaigns. The center hosts volunteers who can speak across 35 languages.
Democrats are planning a $9 million voter education outreach program focused on increasing turnout among communities of color like AAPIs.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 7:13 p.m. on Oct. 1, 2020 to include additional context.
