Saturday, August 4, 2012

Romney must win over Asian voters

If Mitt Romney wants to reach 270 electoral votes, and win the presidency, he must aggressively target Asian-American voters.

Asians -- Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese and Koreans -- are the nation's wealthiest, most highly educated and most aspirational voting demographic. Their numbers have grown by more than 40 percent in the last decade, and they are concentrated in key electoral battleground states like Nevada, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania.


Despite surveys showing Asian-Americans as more favorable toward Obama and government than the general public, their actual voting behavior in recent elections offers Romney an opportunity. Look to 2009, the year Republicans recovered from the Obama blowout and stormed back to retake the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey.

Republican Bob McDonnell targeted Asian-Americans energetically, even though they constitute just 5.9 percent of Virginians. He employed multiple strategies, such as asking Asian business owners to publicly communicate their support by putting McDonnell signs in their storefronts. His campaign communicated with Asian-American voters in their native languages in everything from mailers to radio ads to yard signs. A postelection survey of Asian-American voters in Northern Virginia found that nearly 60 percent voted for McDonnell.

Middlesex, New Jersey's second most populous county, is a perennial Democratic bastion, but in 2009, it went for Chris Christie by 48 percent to 44 percent -- almost precisely his statewide margin. Not coincidentally, Middlesex now has among the highest percentages of Asian-Americans outside of Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay area.

Asian-American voters are not immune to the national backlash against Obama's big government blowout. Their values and attitudes, by and large, hew more closely to the GOP economic policies, emphasizing hard work, parental involvement in education, the permanence of marriage and family unity. They link success to individual achievement rather than government beneficence.
Romney doesn't need to win the Asian-American vote outright. It would be enough to improve substantially on the 35 percent that John McCain won. Given the clusters of Asian-American voters who now reside in battleground states, a serious outreach strategy along the lines of McDonnell's successful gubernatorial campaign illuminates a pathway to victory.

There are hundreds of media outlets in battleground states through which Romney can reach Asian-American voters cheaply in their native languages -- especially to Korean, Vietnamese and Filipino audiences, where pro-Republican sentiment is strongest. The Korean Times, for example, has 13 bureaus in the U.S. and a daily edition circulation larger than the Los Angeles Times.

Nevada, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania between them hold 111 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Obama carried them all in 2008. Romney needs to flip them. Asian-Americans comprise, on average, 3.8 percent of the population of those states, which could exceed the margin in a close election. A relatively modest investment by Team Romney in Asian outreach, out of the tens of millions it will pour into these states, could put him in the White House. And if, as Democratic strategists fear, turnout by Asian-Americans and other minorities falls below 2008 levels, the decline would occur chiefly among Obama supporters, amplifying any inroads that Romney makes.

The stakes for the future of liberty and limited government are simply too high for the Romney campaign to leave any stone unturned in the search for voters. By dedicating real resources to a sustained, strategic campaign of messaging and get-out-the-vote aimed at Asian-American voters, Romney will not only win the White House, but also lay the foundation for a new Republican majority with the fast-growing Asian voting population as a key pillar.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/romney-must-win-over-asian-voters/article/2503341

Shawn Steel is California's Republican National Committeeman and a former chairman of the California Republican Party.

Asian Americans For Mitt Romney


PoliticalNews.me - Aug 03,2012 - Mitt Romney Announces Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders For Romney Community

Mitt Romney announced his Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders for Romney community.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have wonderful cultures that enrich all of America,” said Mitt Romney. “For generations, members of this community have contributed to our country, started new businesses and invented new products, and served with honor and distinction in the fight to protect freedom all around the world. I am honored to have the support of such great Asian Americans, and look forward to working with them to get our country on the right track again.”

“I am honored that Governor Mitt Romney asked me to serve as the national chair of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,” said former Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “Having worked in previous presidential administrations, I know Governor Mitt Romney has the experience and the character to tackle the problems that are facing our nation. Americans are suffering, and it will take new leadership to put this country on a path to prosperity and full employment.”

“I am pleased and honored to serve as a national co-chair for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,” said Universal Health Care CEO Akshay Desai. “As a businessman, I know all too well what it takes to make it in the private sector. When I hear President Obama tell small business people that “somebody else” made their success happen, I know that he is not cut out to turn around our economy. Mitt Romney is the change we so desperately need, and I look forward to having him in the White House.”

National Chair

Elaine L. Chao, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor (2001-2009)

National Co-Chairs

Congressman Steve Austria (R-OH)
Akshay Desai, CEO of Universal Healthcare
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Viet Dinh
Former Congressman Charles Djou, (R-HI)
Former Director of the U.S. Mint Edmund Moy
Former Congresswoman Patricia Saiki, (R-HI)
Ambassador Sichan Siv

http://www.mittromney.com/coalitions/asian-americans-and-pacific-islanders-for-romney

Republican hopeful Romney appoints Indian-American in bid to win over Asian vote

Indian-American Akshay Desai has been roped in by the U.S.'s Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his outreach to the Asian-American community ahead of the crucial November 6 presidential elections.

Florida-based Desai, the CEO of Universal Healthcare, has been made one of the seven national co-chairs of the Asian- Americans and Pacific Islanders for the Romney community.

'I am pleased and honoured to serve as a national co-chair for Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,' Desai said


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2183296/Republican-hopeful-Romney-appoints-Indian-American-bid-win-Asian-vote.html#ixzz22bSAoRed

Is the GOP about to have an (Asian American) evangelical problem?

(The Washington Post) Few Americans know that Asian Americans voted largely in favor of Obama when he ran against McCain in 2008. Little is known about how Asian Americans vote because most studies that evaluate vote choice and turnout are conducted in one or two languages and are usually not large enough to identify the diversity of political opinion in Asian America.


But a recent survey, the 2012 Pew Asian American Survey, focuses specifically on Asian Americans’ political and religious views and the results are rather surprising.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/is-the-gop-about-to-have-an-asian-american-evangelical-problem/2012/08/03/a01c5772-dd8b-11e1-8e43-4a3c4375504a_blog.html