Qingqing Ouyang is the founder and president of the Asian Passion Program. Warren Chen is a foreign affairs writer for Politicized News.
Artwork by Nina Gruteser
As the 2022 midterm elections are coming up in November, the growing Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) voting bloc is also attracting attention from all over the nation.
AAPI is the fastest growing group, with increasing numbers in voting turnout. With AAPI hate crimes and the onslaught of the pandemic, more AAPI voters hope to see their communities represented in national politics.
Madalene Mielke, a leader in civil rights and a member of USA Today’s Inaugural Leaders of Change, says that Asian Americans voting is “an essential part of how we can continue to gain voice and perspective in our political system.” However, in order to vote, we must first understand the AAPI candidates up for running in the federal midterm elections. Below are three democratic candidates who are part of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).
Judy Chu
US Representative Chu was elected in July of 2009, representing the 27th congressional district of California as the first Chinese American woman ever elected to congress. Now, she is active in areas including but not limited to healthcare, women’s rights, and taxes. As the chair of the CAPAC and an AAPI advocate, she has previously worked on a congressional resolution of regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and also donated to the Los Angeles Chinese American Museum.
Representative Chu’s political position has been reported to be 100% in line with President Joe Biden, and she is also one of the only Unitarian Universalists within Congress.
Brian Schatz
US Senator Schatz was elected in 2012 of Hawaii, and serves in various committees such as the Democratic Leadership Team and the Indian Affairs Committee. Currently, Senator Schatz is active working with democrats and republicans to pass laws on the distribution of federal dollars, health concerns from the pandemic, developing the economy, and improve other areas like health care. As the chair of the Special Committee on the climate crisis and the Democratic Party of Hawaii, Senator Schatz works to respond to urgent climate issues and needs. He also leads the Youth for Environmental Service and the 501(c)(3) Helping Hands Hawaii.
Senator Schatz’s political position is reported to be a low profile but influential progressive according to the New York Magazine, and he has a 3% conservative rating according to the American Conservative Union. Besides caring deeply about the environment, Senator Schatz is 100% pro-choice for abortion, 100% supporting LGBTQ+ rights, supports increasing income tax, and also supports gun control legislation.
Al Green
US Senator Green was elected in 2021 representing Texas’ 9th congressional district, and currently is active in many committees such as the Financial Services Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security. On CAPAC, Senator Green is the CAPAC Housing Taskforce Chair, and he aims to “promote the interests of the constituents” in his district, many of whom are from the AAPI community” (“Congressman Al Green”). Senator Green’s main issues include fair housing and representing the poor and minorities.
Senator Green’s political positions on social issues are strongly liberal. For abortion, he is 100% pro-choice according to Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. He also supports gun control and is a part of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.
Ro Khanna
Hailing from California’s 17th Congressional District, Ro Khanna has been serving as representative since unseating incumbent Democrat Mike Honda in the 2016 election. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Rep. Khanna also previously served as deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Commerce within the Obama Administration. He is also a prominent member within CAPAC, serving on the executive board.
A self-declared progressive capitalist, Rep. Khanna is notable for being one of only 6 members of the House, and 10 members of Congress overall who state that they do not receive money from political action committees or corporations. Since 2019, he has identified women’s rights, debt-free education, and the limitation of lobby money as his primary priorities.
Grace Meng
The first Asian-American elected to Congress in New York, Grace Meng has been representing New York’s 6th Congressional District since she assumed office in 2013. A member of the committee of appropriations, she has also been an advocate for policies which would assist resourced community colleges throughout the nation. Hailing from Taiwanese-Chinese descent, she is also a vocal champion for Asian American civil rights, most notably through her introduction of H.R. 151 to condemn all anti-Asian sentiment in relation to COVID-19.
Previously elected unanimously as the vice-chair of the DNC in 2016, she now serves as the first vice-chair of CAPAC. Representative Meng has voted in line with President Biden’s stated position 100% of the time.
Mark Takano
Representing California’s 41st District, Mark Takano is perhaps most well known for being the first openly gay Asian American in Congress. Takano has received appraisal as chair of the Committee of Veterans’ Affairs – the youngest chair of any major standing House committee, receiving an “A” rating from the Lugar Center Congressional Oversight Hearing Index. He is also active within caucuses such as the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and CAPAC, the latter of which he currently serves as Second Vice-Chair.
Takano, a strong supporter of abortion rights, received a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America. He is also notable for having supported both attempts to impeach former President Donald Trump and being a vocal critic of Congress’ inability to pass gun legislation. In this year’s election, Takano will be vying for office in California’s 39th District, as opposed to his current seat in the 41st.
Tammy Duckworth
Tammy Duckworth has been serving as the junior senator from Illinois since 2016 as the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress as a whole, before which she served as representative for Illinois’ 8th Congressional District. She is well-known for her service in the US Army as a helicopter pilot, having been shot down by Iraqi insurgents in 2004 and losing both legs and some mobility in her right arm. For her bravery, Senator Duckworth received the Purple Heart.
Rated by the NRA as having a pro-gun control voting record, Senator Duckworth supports measures such as universal background checks and combating state-to-state gun trafficking. A gun owner herself, she cites the violence in Chicago as a major influence in her support of gun control. She is also a supporter of abortion rights, calling the overturn of Roe v. Wade a “nightmare”, and a member of the CAPAC executive board. Senator Duckworth was also vetted as a potential running mate for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, a spot ultimately given to her colleague Kamala Harris. Nonetheless, Senator Duckworth holds an impressive record of “firsts”, being the first woman with a disability to be elected to Congress, the first female double amputee in Congress, and first female senator to give birth in office. She is also the second
Asian-American woman overall to serve in Congress, after Mazie Hirono.
Raja Krishnamoorthi
Also from Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, Raja Krishnamoorthi was elected to succeed the aforementioned Tammy Duckworth after she left the seat to pursue her current position as senator. A member of the House Oversight Committee and cosponsor of the of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, colloquially known as the first stimulus package, he is also an advocate for abortion rights, strenghtening education, and the environment.
Rep. Krishnamoorthi also previously served as a policy director on Obama’s senate campaign in 2004, and worked as deputy state treasurer from 2007 to 2009. He is a member of the centrist, pro-business New Democrat Coalition, the co-chair of the CAPAC Immigration Task Force, and a founder of the Congressional Solar Caucus.