AAPI Victory Fund Congratulates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Their Historic Win

AAPI Turnout Increased Across the Country to Vote for the First AAPI Vice President

WASHINGTON - On Saturday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris surpassed 270 in the electoral college, to win the presidency. In this historic win, Kamala Harris will become the first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) to serve in the role of Vice President, along with being the first Black and female Vice President. 

“It is both an exciting and sobering time for America,” said Shekar Narasimhan, chair and founder of AAPI Victory Fund. “We have proved once again that democracy works and “we the people” make the choice. And Kamala Harris has broken many glass ceilings. The AAPI community and AAPI Victory Fund stands ready, just as we did in January when we endorsed Vice President Biden, to do our part.”

AAPI Victory Fund was the second national group to endorse Joe Biden for President. Over the course of the Democratic primaries, the organization met with six presidential candidates. After Joe Biden became the presumptive nominee, AAPI Victory Fund continued to leverage its relationships to create events, including with Biden and Harris, in support of the campaign and AAPI turnout.

“This victory is even sweeter for AAPIs, not just because we’ve elected the first ever Asian American to be in the White House, but because our votes were the margin of victory that led to this,” said Varun Nikore, president of AAPI Victory Fund. “AAPI Victory Fund has been building and supporting state based infrastructure to turnout democratic AAPI votes since our founding. In 2019 at our Costa Mesa summit, our constellation of AAPI entities facilitated the creation and supported new 501c4 organizations in Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and most recently in Texas.”

“AAPI voter turnout increased substantially compared to 2016,” said Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart, a political data firm. “In presidential battlegrounds, 19% more AAPI voters cast a ballot in the early vote alone than in the entirety of the 2016 election. In every single battleground state, AAPI voters saw a bigger percent increase in votes cast relative to 2016 than any other group. In Georgia, AAPI voters exceeded their total 2016 turnout by 57 percent and almost 30,500 voted for the first time in their lives. In Texas, AAPI early voters exceeded their total 2016 turnout by an astounding 153 percent.”

“Since 2017, when Jon Ossoff  first ran for Congress in Georgia, AAPI Victory Fund has created roots in the state for a Southern strategy,” said Loida Nicolas Lewis, board member of AAPI Victory Fund. “Thanks to grassroots organizations and organizers across the state, Georgia is now in play with two key Senate races heading to a run-off election on January 5. AAPI Victory Fund will continue to support these efforts by executing our campaign plan and fundraising efforts to flip the Senate blue.”

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