Chinese American Candidates Win Big in California Primaries

Of the 23 Chinese American candidates in this year’s primary elections in northern California, 18 are poised to win, according to the Chinese-language World Journal. With final election results for some candidates still pending, the primary already has yielded victories for San Francisco Supervisor Fiona Ma, who won the Democratic nomination for the 12th Assembly District; Assemblyman Leland Yee, who also won the Democratic nomination for state Senate; and Judge Lillian Sing who won an open seat on San Francisco Superior Court.

These victories could become historic for the Chinese American community. Ma could be the first Asian American assembly woman in District 12, which includes San Francisco and San Mateo County. Yee, who is the first Asian American Speaker pro Tempore, could be the first Chinese American in the California state Senate.

Non-Asian candidates employed various tactics to appeal to Asian American voters in this year’s primary. Most notably, state Controller Steve Westly recruited his Chinese American wife, Anita Yu, and Mandarin-speaking daughter to campaign on his behalf in the Chinese community. Yu appeared in Chinese language newspapers and advertisements. Sandre Swanson, running for the Democratic nomination in California’s 16th Assembly District, which includes Oakland, adapted a Chinese name to appeal to the Chinese Americans in his district.

The political clout of Asian American voters have been increasing, according to the Asian American Action Fund, a Democratic political action committee. The committee’s May 31 report showed that in 1996, there were about 300 Asian American elected officials nationwide. In 2005, there were 555, including two U.S. Senators, five U.S. representatives, 64 State Senators, 97 state representatives, three state governors, and 19 city mayors.

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