WASHINGTON — Today, AAPI Victory Fund announced their latest endorsement for the 2022 election cycle: Representative Val Demings for Senator of Florida. 

Val Demings has represented Florida’s 10th district in the US House of Representatives since 2017, where she has fought for gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform, economic equality, and an end to gender discrimination and violence against women. From growing up alongside her six older siblings in Jacksonville to now serving on the US House Judiciary, Intelligence, and Homeland Security Committees, Representative Demings continues to break barriers. If elected to the Senate, Val Demings would be Florida’s first Black woman US Senator. 

As the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in the US, AANHPIs makeup 2.7% of Florida’s electorate, a figure that shows a 37% increase in AANHPI turnout since the 2010 election. With a competitive 2020 presidential election margin of 370,000 votes in Florida, it is clear that the surging AANHPI electorate is becoming a crucial election-determining community. 

AAPI Victory Fund President and CEO Brad Jenkins issued the following statement:

“I am pleased to lead the AAPI Victory Fund in announcing our endorsement of Representative Val Demings for US Senate in Florida. Over the course of her career, Demings has shown an unwavering commitment to the people of Florida and continues to be a tireless champion for public safety, civil rights, and the American Dream.”

“Congresswoman Demings has dedicated her career to pursuing justice and equality for all Floridians. At a time when violence against the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities continue to escalate, when Americans feel that democracy is under attack, and as women in the US lose their fundamental right to access to abortion and reproductive healthcare, the historic opportunity to elect America’s first Black woman Senator from the great Sunshine State cannot be overstated.”

“We are confident that Val Demings will continue to prioritize people over politics and will serve in the interest of every constituent—especially that of our AANHPI community.”

AAPI Victory Fund National Political Director Shehn Datta issued the following statement:

“As the fastest emerging sector of the national electorate, our election-determining community can help elect Florida’s first African-American woman Senator – Val Demings. Women –and especially women of color– remain vastly underrepresented in critical executive leadership positions, and our AANHPI Florida community may be in the position to change that.”

“At AAPI Victory Fund, we are extremely proud to help curb this cycle of malicious underrepresentation and endorse Representative Demings for her historic Senate race in Florida this November. We look forward to supporting Congresswoman Demings as she flips this seat from red to blue and expands the Democratic majority in the US Senate.”

Florida Senate Candidate Val Demings issued the following statement:

“I’m proud to be endorsed by the AAPI Victory Fund. We must lower costs, protect our constitutional rights, and have zero tolerance for any anti-Asian sentiment or violence associated with it. In the US Senate, I will work hard to make sure every Florida family feels safe, valued, and a part of the great American story.”

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