Survey: Enthusiasm for Harris catapults Asian American voters
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Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a campaign event at the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote Presidential Town Hall in Philadelphia. Photo: Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris has more than doubled her lead over former President Trump with Asian American voters, compared to the advantage President Biden previously had, a new survey finds.
Why it matters: New data from the nonpartisan APIAVote and AAPIData show that Harris, who is Black and Asian American, is generating excitement about one of the nation's fast-growing voting constituencies.
- It's the first major survey of Asian American voters since President Biden dropped out of the race and Harris entered.
The big picture: Asian American voters in recent elections have been among the Democratic coalition that made the difference for Democrats in battleground states like Georgia.
By the numbers: According to the survey, 66% of Asian American voters now say they plan on voting for Harris compared to 28% for Trump. Only 6% said they were undecided or would back another candidate.
- In a previous survey, 46% of Asian American voters backed Biden and 31% supported Trump, while 23% said they planned to vote for someone else or were undecided.
- Intention to vote has also grown: 77% of Asian American voters said they are "absolutely certain" they will vote in the 2024 election, up from 68 percent who said the same a few months ago.
The intrigue: Asian American voters are more likely to say Harris' identity as a woman candidate is more important than her South Asian heritage.
- 38% of Asian American voters say Harris' identity as a woman is "extremely" or "very" important to them, compared to 27% who say the same about her identity as an Asian Indian or South Asian.
What they're saying: "What Harris has done has brought Asian American voters back into the presidential tent," said AAPI Data head Karthick Ramakrishnan.
- Ramakrishnan says he expects voter enthusiasm and turnout among this group to rival 2016 and 2020, a historic high.
- "Especially when you look at voter enthusiasm, this shows an electorate that is energized and is very likely to tip the scales."
- Growing Asian American enthusiasm mirrors other polling showing how much the race has changed since Harris became the Democratic candidate.
Zoom in: Harris' favorability among Asian American voters has increased 18 points since the spring.
- 62% of Asian American voters say they have a favorable opinion of Kamala Harris, compared to 35% who have an unfavorable opinion of her.
- Meanwhile, 28% of Asian American voters have a favorable opinion of Donald Trump, compared to 70% who have an unfavorable opinion of the former president.
Methodology: This latest edition of the 2024 AAPI Voter Survey was conducted between September 3-9, with 1,166 registered voters by NORC using NORC's Amplify AAPI® Panel for the sample source.
- The overall margin of error is +/- 4.7 percent.
- The survey was offered in English, Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Korean and was administered either online over the phone with a live interviewer, depending on the preference of the respondent. Surveys with a live interviewer were only conducted in English.
