When Debbie Chen temporarily closed her Houston restaurant in March due to the coronavirus, she was worried about her health and her financial livelihood.
But as a Chinese American, she was also worried about vandalism and her physical safety, given how President Donald Trump and others were blaming China for the pandemic and using racist monikers for the virus.
Seven months later, as Texans head to the polls in the 2020 elections, she hasn鈥檛 forgotten. Chen works on Asian American and Pacific Islander voter turnout every year, but this year she feels even more motivated.
鈥淚 was so afraid someone would get attacked,鈥� Chen said. Trump鈥檚 rhetoric 鈥減erpetuates this stereotype that Asians are foreigners or something.鈥�
How many voters like Chen feel the same way on the 2020 elections. The share of Asian Americans nationwide remains less than 5% of the total electorate. But it鈥檚 the fastest growing racial or ethnic voting group in the country, .
In Texas, there are sizable Asian American communities in districts that hold outsize importance this year. Democrats are hopeful that they can flip nine seats in the state House to gain a majority in the lower chamber ahead of next year鈥檚 legislative session. Key among those efforts are nine seats held by Republicans in which former U.S. Rep. Beto O鈥橰ourke, a Democrat, received more votes than U.S. Sen. , R-Texas, in 2018. In two-thirds of those districts, the Asian share of the population is more than double the statewide share. Multiple U.S. House seats targeted by Democrats have large Asian American populations, too.
鈥淭here are some districts where there鈥檚 a significant enough level of organization and voters that can make a difference if it鈥檚 a matter of turnout and the races are close enough,鈥� said Madline Hsu, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
Asian American voters are hardly a monolith. While the Indian American population for years, Vietnamese Americans tend to lean Republican. And Filipino Americans .
Since 2016, Trump has made small inroads with Vietnamese and Indian Americans but lost support among Chinese Americans, according to polls from the Asian American Voter Survey.
But recent polling also suggests that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, who are sometimes referred to collectively as the AAPI community, overall may turn out in higher numbers for Democrats in 2020.
鈥淵ou had this 鈥楥hinese Americans for Trump鈥� phenomenon in 2016 and it looked like that was a group that was maybe going to go conservative over time,鈥� said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a University of California, Riverside political science professor who runs a survey on Asian American voters. 鈥淏ut his support has actually gotten worse among Chinese Americans. It鈥檚 not just the anti-China rhetoric, but all the bigotry he unleashed during the coronavirus is hurting.鈥�
Ramakrishnan cited actions by the president while in office as contributing factors, noting how this year Trump repeatedly called the coronavirus the 鈥淐hinese virus鈥� and imposed major new limits on H-1B visas that allow people from other countries to work in the United States 鈥� a move that disproportionately affected Chinese and Indian immigrants.
Nearly a week after a buoyant Trump emerged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 鈥� fresh off around-the-clock medical treatment during his own bout with the virus 鈥� he was at the first presidential debate to COVID-19 as the 鈥淐hina plague.鈥� Prior to that, he was at the forefront of that responsibility for the virus lies with China.
Some Asian Americans鈥� leftward shift started even before the pandemic hit, Ramakrishnan noted. In 1992, less than one-third of Asian Americans voted for President Bill Clinton. Now, a large chunk identify as Democrats, with 54% saying they plan to back former Vice President Joe Biden and 30% saying they鈥檇 vote for Trump, according to the latest released in September.
Texas numbers are harder to gauge. Asian Americans make up about 5% of the population and most statewide polls don鈥檛 contact enough Asian voters to provide a reliable sample.
Still, not everyone is convinced that Trump鈥檚 rhetoric will have a significantly adverse effect on the GOP this fall. Hsu said Taiwainese Americans may be more likely to support Trump鈥檚 hardline policies against China, while socially conservative Asian Americans are also likely to back the incumbent Republican.
Nonetheless, Democrats and their allies have taken multiple steps to court Asian voters in Texas: Everytown for Gun Safety has been running ads in Asian American print papers across the state to 鈥渢o reach constituents we haven鈥檛 adequately engaged with in the past,鈥� according to a spokesperson for the group. The Democratic National Committee announced a new radio ad campaign on Wednesday to reach AAPI voters in Texas. The campaign is multilingual and will target voters in the Houston and Dallas markets, where many of the competitive state House races are located.
Late last month, the Texas Democratic Party鈥檚 AAPI Caucus, AAPIs for Biden and the Asian American Democrats of Texas announced a 10-day campaign to celebrate and mobilize AAPI voters.
Perhaps the district where the impact on campaigning is most clear is the 22nd Congressional District, where Sri Preston Kulkarni is running against Republican Troy Nehls for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. , R-Sugar Land.
Kulkarni says his campaign is engaging with voters in 27 different languages in the diverse Fort Bend County district, once a conservative stronghold. Olson won reelection in 2018 against Kulkarni by 5 percentage points. After Olson announced he wouldn鈥檛 run for reelection in 2020, Democrats have identified the seat as one of their top targets.
鈥淭he Asian American voters my campaign is talking to every day are ready and enthusiastic for more representation in this country鈥檚 halls of power,鈥� Kulkarni said. 鈥淚 think the rise in Asian American turnout is a great sign for our race. These are voters who aren鈥檛 overly partisan, they just want reasonable leadership who will fight for them in Congress, rather than an ideology or a political party.鈥�
His opponent, meanwhile, an 鈥淎sian Americans for Nehls鈥� coalition in September with the goal of guiding the campaign鈥檚 outreach to Asian communities. At a campaign rally with U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Sept. 18 in Richmond, Nehls emphasized the district鈥檚 diversity.
鈥淲e have so many friends here,鈥� Nehls said at the time. 鈥淢y friends from the Hindu community 鈥� the Muslim community 鈥� my African conservative community. 鈥� We have our Chinese Americans here, our Hispanics. We are all one family in the fight together for November.鈥�
In the nearby swing state House District 26, Asian Americans make up 30% of the population. If Republicans want to hold the seat, said Craig LeTulle, a longtime GOP activist in Fort Bend County, they鈥檒l need to court voters beyond 鈥渢he GOP鈥檚 brand of the old, white guy鈥檚 party.鈥�
LeTulle said he and other Republicans in the area have worked to reach out to the Asian American community. When he has, he said, he鈥檚 been able to 鈥渃onvince them that our conservative traditional values are like their conservative values.鈥�
鈥淲hen white or Anglo grassroots people like me reach out to those communities and we share with them what the party's really about, I find that they gravitate toward the party,鈥� he said, citing connections on "fiscal issues or otherwise.鈥�
Late last year, state Rep. , the Sugar Land Republican who has represented the district since 2013, announced he was no longer running for reelection after he sparked a firestorm for saying his primary challenger was running against him only . Running to replace him are Democrat L. Sarah DeMerchant and Republican Jacey Jetton, who is half Korean.
In most of the state鈥檚 legislative swing districts, Republicans are trying to hold onto suburban seats where support for Trump is slipping. In , House Speaker , a Republican, lamented with a hardline conservative activist about the Richardson district of fellow Republican state Rep. , the only Asian American woman in the Legislature, noting he had polled the district and found Trump down 15 percentage points there. Button, who declined an interview for this story, narrowly won reelection in 2018 by 2 percentage points, or about 1,000 votes.
Meanwhile, in the 2nd Congressional District Sima Ladjevardian 鈥� who is Iranian American 鈥� sees a prime political opportunity against U.S. Rep. , R-Houston.
鈥淭his whole tsunami of hate has just really scared the AAPI community,鈥� Ladjevardian said. 鈥淭here were very big concerns about their businesses being vandalized and they鈥檙e scared that there鈥檚 this atmosphere where hate is allowed.鈥�
In interviews, Asian American politicians, candidates and academics vowed to make their voices heard at the polls and speak out to protect their community despite a turbulent political climate.
鈥淚 think for a lot of people it鈥檚 almost like a visceral pain,鈥� said state Rep. , D-Houston. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e disgusted by what鈥檚 been happening. And it鈥檚 not just an existential type of attack, but the Asian American community, especially the Chinese American community, feels their lives are being threatened because they鈥檙e being singled out.
鈥淲hen Donald Trump uses language like the 鈥榃uhan Virus,鈥� 鈥楥hinese Virus鈥� or 鈥楰ung Flu,鈥� that doesn鈥檛 just put Chinese Americans in danger 鈥� that puts all Asian Americans in danger,鈥� Wu said, 鈥渂ecause nobody knows the difference between someone who鈥檚 Chinese and Vietnamese, and no one cares.鈥�
At times, Trump has attempted to make overtures to Asian Americans. He in March that it was 鈥渧ery important that we totally protect our Asian-American community in the United States.鈥� But has continued to use racist terms like "" to describe the virus, though the White House has said his aim has been to note where the virus came from, "not a discussion about Asian Americans, who the president values and prizes as citizens of this great country."
Chen noted Trump鈥檚 language could strike a chord even with conservative Asian Americans.
鈥淲e have people across the spectrum, so I always tell the community鈥檚 Asian Americans they need to vote so both parties take our community seriously as a viable bloc they still have a chance to win over.鈥�
Still, Asian American voters have been moving toward the Democratic Party over the past two decades. Democratic candidates hope to see that trend continue in 2020.
鈥淢ost Asian American voters are naturalized citizens. They don鈥檛 have a really strong party identification, although over time it has gotten stronger,鈥� Ramakrishnan said. 鈥淪o where the parties stand on the issues and the kind of rhetoric that is used gives them a strong sense of where they are welcome and where they are not.鈥�