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Honda, Locke Applaud Historic APIA Turnout for Kerry
National APIA Leaders Stump for Democrats, Produce
Record Voting Numbers
Release by Offices of Rep. Honda
and Gov. Locke
Washington, DC - November 11, 2004 - Fresh off a
nationwide tour as the first APIAs to serve as Democratic Presidential
Steering Committee members, US Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Chair of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), and Gov. Gary Locke
(D-WA) are touting 2004 election results as evidence that the APIA
community has elevated its political profile and fully "come of age" as
a political force.
Honda and Locke traveled to nearly 20 states across the country to
mobilize the APIA community on behalf of the Kerry-Edwards Campaign and
the Democratic National Committee, coordinating voter registration and
Get-out-the-Vote (GOTV) efforts, encouraging multi-lingual broadcast and
print ad buys with ethnic media outlets in battleground states, and
promoting national community enfranchisement from Oregon to Iowa to
Florida.
The community responded to the outreach effort, with hundreds of APIAs
traveling to battleground states to register voters and help get out the
vote. Because of a plan developed by Honda and Locke, for the first
time in Democratic presidential politics, the APIA community had a
comprehensive GOTV team of professionals, with paid field organizers and
staff directors working in nine battleground states. APIAs also
arranged for free cell phone minutes for national phone banking, with
APIA organizers coordinating to call voters in Nevada, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Florida, Oregon, New York - and even Hawaii- in many
languages.
The effort scored record turnout and unprecedented support for Democrats
from this critical swing vote. According to the Los Angeles Times,
64 percent of APIAs voted
for John Kerry and John Edwards, while the New York Times and Washington
Post polled APIA support of Kerry-Edwards at 61
percent. National Multilingual Exit Polls of
11,000 APIA voters found that 74
percent favored John Kerry, with 38
percent of respondents being first-time voters.
"The APIA electorate turned out in record numbers, both to vote and to
volunteer in key election areas," Honda said. "We made a real
difference, particularly in battleground states, and supported our
Democratic Party at a level not reached before. This election, we
secured support for John Kerry from voters who speak many languages and
have diverse cultural backgrounds - including members of the Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani, Vietnamese, Filipino, Cambodian,
Thai, and Hmong communities," Honda said. "We did this by showing that
the Democratic Party is serious about eliminating racial and ethnic
health disparities, enacting comprehensive immigration reform, fighting
to create jobs, overcoming language barriers, and providing educational
opportunities for the under-served."
"Our schools, our immigration policies, small businesses, health care
and our civil liberties have all been adversely affected by the Bush
Administration," said Locke. "Congressman Honda and I were honored to
be a part of Senator Kerry's national steering committee as well as
co-chairs of the Kerry/Edwards Asian Pacific Islander efforts. We
worked to ensure that candidates addressed the issues of primary
importance to the APIA community and the high APIA voter turnout in this
election confirmed that those efforts made a difference."
Honda and Locke worked closely with community organizers to maximize the
APIA vote, making stops in coordination with APIA GOTV programs in
Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Minnesota, Washington DC, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, California,
Illinois, Nevada, New York, New Jersey and Iowa.
Serving as Advisors to the Kerry-Edwards Campaign, both Honda and Locke
secured coveted spots on John Kerry's National Steering Committee - the
first APIAs ever to garner this honor. In addition, a record 75 APIA
staff members joined the Kerry-Edwards campaign and the Democratic
National Committee. Honda also served as Deputy Chair of the DNC and
Governor Locke was a Democratic Convention Vice Chair.
As the fastest growing minority group in the country, APIAs had the
opportunity to make the 2004 election a political "coming of age," and
with Congressman Honda and Governor Locke as advisors, John Kerry and
John Edwards made APIA issues - including health care access, education,
civil rights, and immigration - prominent elements of their campaign
platform.
Congressman Honda's role as CAPAC Chair made him a logical choice to be
John Kerry's surrogate at national conventions such as the National
Federation of Filipino American Associations (NAFFAA) and the National
Korean American Coalition (KAC), as well as at events with the Chinese,
Indian, Japanese, and other APIA communities. Before joining Governor
Locke in Ohio, Rep. Honda toured through Illinois, the Southwest,
California, and Nevada mobilizing voters and meeting with press for John
Kerry, with both the APIA and the Hispanic communities.
Contact: Jay Staunton (Rep. Honda):
202.225.3327; Nancy Biery (Gov. Locke): 360.481.4223 |
