WASHINGTON — Last night, the AAPI Victory Fund and The Second City hosted a historic National Get Out The Vote event with Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, and some of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities’ (AANHPI) most influential changemakers to galvanize the AANHPI electorate just days before the midterm elections.

With issues like reproductive rights, the spreading of mis and disinformation, and the future of democracy at stake, it is crucial for the 13.3 million newly eligible AANHPI voters in 2022 to use their collective power to vote for not only the representation their communities deserve but for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. 

Remarks from Vice President of The United States Kamala Harris

• “The Asian American voter turnout in the 2020 election is a very big part of why I’m the Vice President of The United States. Inclusion and representation matter and members of the Administration should reflect the communities that are impacted, being impacted, and are believers of this country.” 

Remarks from U.S. Senator of Illinois Tammy Duckworth

• “The young Asian American vote won Georgia, and we now have the largest number of Asian American candidates in history running in the state of Illinois. Representation matters and having a seat at the table matters.”

Remarks fromAAPI Victory Fund Founder and Chairman Shekar Narasimhan

• “This group of AANHPIs is all you have to see to believe in the power of the vote and the power of representation at every level of government.Pollsters don’t vote. Polls don’t count. The only thing that counts is the vote of the AANHPI community and when we vote, Democrats win.”

Remarks from AAPI Victory Fund CEO and President Brad Jenkins

• “We are 23 million strong. And, whether we win or lose, will depend on our vote. This event is for all of the incredible volunteers and organizers out there who are knocking on doors, text-banking, and turning out the vote. Think of this as your halftime pep talk! We have so many Asian American candidates running across the country and we are going to make history on Tuesday.”

Remarks from Emmy-Award-Winning Host Jeannie Mai Jenkins

• “We stand at the precipice of one of the most important elections of our time. When not only the fate, the safety, the success, and the opportunity of our community hang in the balance; but our democracy itself.”

Other special guests at the event included:

• The Honorable Raja Krishnamoorthi, U.S. Representative from Illinois’s 8th Congressional District

• The Honorable Aftab Pureval, Mayor of Cincinnati

• The Honorable Theresa Mah, State Representative from Illinois's 2nd House District

• The Honorable Jen Gong-Gershowitz, State Representative from Illinois's 17th House District

• The Honorable Shri Thaneder, State Representative from Michigan’s  3rd House District and Candidate for U.S. House of Representative from Michigan’s 13th Congressional District

• The Honorable Rena Van Tine, Judge for Cook County Circuit Court

• The Honorable Sanjay Tailor, Judge for Cook County Circuit Court

• The Honorable Josina Morita, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Candidate for Cook County Commissioner

• The Honorable Nicole Lee, Alderman in Chicago City Council 

• Hoan Huynh, Candidate for State Representative in Illinois's 13th House District

• Lucy Chang Evans, Candidate for DuPage County Board District 3

• The Linda Lindas, Rock Band 

• Jimmy O. Yang, Actor and Stand-up Comedian

• Aasif Mandvi, Actor and Comedian

• Amanda Nguyen, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee 

• Aparna Nancherla, Comedian 

• Lisa Joy, Westworld Creator 

• Arianna “Ari” Afsar, Broadway Star 

• Molly Kawahata, Climate Activist 

• Leyna Bloom, Model and Activist 

• MC Jin, Rapper and Activist

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The AAPI Victory Fund is focused on mobilizing Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) eligible voters and moving them to the ballot box.