FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Haidee Pan
Director of Marketing & Communications
Phone: (213)269-4639
Email: haidee@causeusa.org

Los Angeles, CA, February 26, 2020 – The Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE), in a historic, unprecedented partnership with Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), Los Angeles Urban League, and the Los Angeles Times, conducted a poll on U.S. Citizens residing in California on their presidential preferences ahead of the primary election.The poll makes the effort to capture Asian Pacific American (APA) sentiment surrounding the presidency and presidential candidates.

“CAUSE is proud to be a part of this unprecedented effort to bring attention to communities of color,” said CAUSE Board Chair Charlie Woo. “The results of this poll clearly demonstrate the pivotal role communities of color have in influencing the upcoming presidential elections.”

Sanders came out as the most favorable presidential candidate for the APA community at 22%, followed by Trump at 18%, Bloomberg at 12%, Warren at 9%, and Biden at 7%. However, the percentage of undecided APAs was almost just as high at 20%.The survey results show that APA’s in particular are more cautious when it comes to favoring presidential candidates and are taking a comparatively longer time in deciding their preferences. This indicates that the support of the APA community is still largely untapped and up for grabs, with potentially lots of last-minute decisions approaching the primary and general elections.

There was a notable generation gap among APA respondents on candidate favorability. Younger respondents (defined in the survey as those aged between 18 and 49) were nearly four times as likely to find Sanders a favorable candidate compared to older respondents (defined as those aged 50+). Older respondents were also nearly twice as likely to support Bloomberg than younger respondents. Among the surveyed communities, 22% of APA’s supported Sanders for the presidency. 33% of Latinos supported Sanders, followed by 26% of African Americans, with white Californians supporting the least at 15%.

“Asian Pacific voters seem to be proceeding somewhat more cautiously with their choices in the campaign than voters from other ethnic communities,” said poll director Dan Schnur. “They also appear to be less enthusiastic about Sanders than either Hispanic-American or African-American voters. The last days before the primary will be critical for candidates seeking support in the APA community.”

As the California primary approaches, APA voters may demonstrate a surprising impact on election outcomes depending on how community sentiments are galvanized or shifted. These results are a clear indication of the potential of the APA vote and the likely consequences for candidates who leave that potential unaddressed.

The poll was conducted online by Strategies 360 from Feb. 12 through 19, meaning it was largely completed before the candidate debate last week in Las Vegas. It surveyed 1,350 adults statewide, with over-samples of African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans to allow more detailed analysis. Respondents were given the option of responding in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Final results were weighted to reflect the proportion of each group in the state’s population. Question wording and results are available on the firm’s website.

About CAUSE

Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan, community-based organization with a mission to advance the political empowerment of the Asian Pacific American community through nonpartisan voter outreach, training, and education as well as leadership development.

Since its founding 1993, CAUSE has led efforts to drive APA civic engagement, from facilitating in-language Get Out The Vote workshops in the Greater Los Angeles Area to hosting the first-ever APA-facing gubernatorial debate in California history in 2018. CAUSE plans to continue efforts in 2020 to mobilize the community by providing the knowledge, access, and network to inspire APAs of all ages to voice their vote.

For any further inquiries, please contact CAUSE via phone at (213) 269-4639 or email at info@causeusa.org. General information can be obtained from our website at www.causeusa.org. Our office is located at 1605 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite #1027, Los Angeles, CA 90015.

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