Residents woke up in the blue state of Washington on Nov. 9 hoping the previous night was just a bad dream.
My Facebook feed was filled with posts from friends in the United States and around the world who said they cried; some expressed disappointment, others felt sick to their stomach. Yet others (Trump supporters) were elated.
No matter where you stand, here’s a bright spot particularly for the Asian American community. The nation’s electorate is getting a little less white. Some 70 percent of voters on Nov. 8 were white, compared with 72 percent four years ago. The Asian voting population ticked up to 4 percent, from 3 percent, and the Latino to 11 percent, from 10 percent. The share of Black voters slipped to 12 percent, down from 13 percent.
The AAPI Victory Fund — the first Super PAC of its kind focused on mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) eligible voters — reported a high early voter turnout.
The next U.S. Senate will have more Asian-American women than ever before. Three members of the Senate are projected to be Asian-American women, a new high just four years after Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii became the first Asian-American woman ever to be elected to the Senate in 2012. Projected to be joining her are Rep. Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, a veteran of the Iraq War, and the first member of Congress to be born in Thailand; and Kamala Harris — the current attorney general of California. Harris and Washington state’s Pramila Jayapal are the first Indian-American women to be elected to Congress.
Stephanie Murphy
Another first? Stephanie Murphy, 37, is expected to make history as the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress, with a projected win in Florida’s 7th Congressional District.
So while you might be blue over the outcome of the presidential election, there are many smaller victories to be celebrated. Women earning positions of power, and women of color to boot. And if you are dissatisfied with the President-elect, perhaps this election will inspire you to vote next time if you sat this one out, to take action by running for office yourself, or helping to campaign for a future fellow Asian American political candidate.