APAICS | Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies

APAICS 2010 Midterm Election Blog

Live coverage of key races with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) candidates and incumbents

[1:25 PM EST]

As election results and news pour in from around the country, APAICS staff will liveblog on a bipartisan slate of AAPI candidates, focusing mainly on:

- All AAPI Members currently serving in Congress
- The eight AAPI Congressional challengers
- Key state level races, including Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Kamala Harris in California, and several state assembly races

Some of these candidates are expected to cruise to victory, others are longshots, and several are in this year’s most competitive races. Two of the most vulnerable Members of the House of Representatives are AAPI Republicans, Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) and Charles Kong Djou (R-HI). Two of the top Congressional challengers this year are South Asian Democratic physicians taking on GOP incumbents: Dr. Ami Bera in California and Dr. Manan Trivedi in Pennsylvania.

We will post up a full slate of candidates we’re tracking later on in the day. And for any readers who haven’t already, please remember to vote.

[2:24 PM EST]

A look at the AAPI incumbents in Congress:

There are currently 14 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders serving in the U.S. Congress.

Three are in the Senate: Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV). Sen. Inouye is the only one up for re-election in 2010, and he is expected to win by a large margin. Assuming Democrats retain control of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Inouye will remain as its President pro tempore.

On the House side, two of the AAPI Members are Delegates: Rep. Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa and Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The remaining 9 members of the House are:

Steve Austria (R-OH)
Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA)
Judy Chu (D-CA)
Charles Kong Djou (R-HI)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Mike Honda (D-CA)
Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA)
David Wu (D-OR)

Only three of these Members are considered vulnerable: Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA), Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI), and Rep. David Wu (D-OR). According to the latest race analysis from the non-partisan Cook Political Report, Rep. Cao is the most vulnerable, Rep. Wu is relatively safe, and Rep. Djou’s race is a toss up.

District	Representative	Partisan Voting Index (PVI)	Analysis
OR-1	David Wu	D+8	Likely Democratic
LA-2	Joseph Cao	D+25	Lean Democratic
HI-1	Charles Djou	D+11	Toss Up

In the case of Rep. Charles Djou, his challenger is another AAPI candidate, Hawaii State Senator Colleen Hanabusa.

[3:15 PM EST]

A look at the AAPI Congressional Challengers:

This year, there are eight AAPI Congressional challengers who have won their primaries and are on the ballot for November 2.


Dr. Ami Bera Democrat (CA-3) Running against: Rep. Dan Lungren (R)	Colleen Hanabusa Democrat (HI-1) Running against: Rep. Charles Djou (R)	Hansen Clarke Democrat (MI-13) Running against: John Hauler (R)	Raj Goyle Democrat (KS-4) Running against: Mike Pompeo (R)


Ravi Sangisetty Democrat (LA-3) Running against: Jeff Landry (R)	Manan Trivedi Democrat (PA-6) Running against: Rep. Jim Gerlach (R)	Van Tran Republican (CA-47) Running against: Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D)	Surya Yalamanchili Democrat (OH-2) Running against: Rep. Jean Schmidt (R)

Of these candidates, only Hansen Clarke is expected to have a smooth path to victory. If he wins, he will become the first Bangladeshi American to serve in the U.S. Congress.

Four of the remaining candidates (Bera, Hanabusa, Trivedi, Tran) are expected to be in competitive races. Of these, Hanabusa’s is expected to be the closest, with Bera, Trivedi, and Tran facing slightly more uphill battles.

Cook Political Report Breakdown (November 1, 2010)

District	Challenger	Incumbent	PVI	Analysis
CA-3	Ami Bera (D)	Dan Lungren (R)	R+6	Lean Republican
HI-1	Colleen Hanabusa (D)	Charles Djou (R)	D+11	Toss Up
PA-6	Manan Trivedi (D)	Jim Gerlach (R)	D+4	Likely Republican
CA-47	Van Tran (R)	Loretta Sanchez (D)	D+4	Lean Democratic

[4:31 PM EST]

Other key races to watch

Nikki Haley
Republican, Running for Governor of South Carolina

The most prominent AAPI political candidate of the 2010 campaign cycle, Nikki Haley is a Republican State Representative of South Asian descent who is the front runner to succeed Mark Sanford as Governor of South Carolina. A rising star in the Republican party, she won her primary after receiving high profile endorsements from Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney and has been mentioned as a possible long-shot contender for the 2010 GOP Presidential field. If elected, she would become the state’s first female governor, and join Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal as the second Indian American governor of a southern state.

Kamala Harris
Democrat, Running for Attorney General of California

In 2003, Kamala Harris became the first woman District Attorney of San Francisco and the first African American woman and South Asian woman to hold the office in California. Often referred to as the female Barack Obama, her victory would make her the first female, the first African-American, and the first Asian-American attorney general in California.

Other

APAICS will be following the Hawaii gubernatorial race as well as a handful of state legislature candidates, including BJ Pak (R) in Georgia, Cindy Ryu (D) in Washington, and several new candidates in California and Maryland.

[8:24 PM EST]

Results are now flooding in from a lot of the races we’re tracking. We’ll be launching a separate post shortly with a table listing all the latest stats for each candidate on our slate. For now:

South Carolina

The NYTimes shows Vince Shaheen with a slight lead over Nikki Haley in the S.C. Governor’s race (5% reporting)

5% reporting

Candidate	Party	Votes	Pct.
Vincent Sheheen	Dem.	23,159	49.4%
Nikki Haley	Rep.	23,051	49.1%
Morgan Reeves	Green	701	1.5%

Georgia

Korean American Assembly Candidate B.J. Pak has 73.4% of the vote with 6% of his precincts reporting.

Ohio

South Asian Congressional candidate Surya Yalamanchili trails in Ohio’s 2nd District

Candidate	Votes	%
Jean Schmidt (Incumbent)	19,713	59
Surya Yalamanchili	11,434	34
Marc Johnston	2,016	6

Precincts: 1% | Updated: 8:22 PM ET | Source: AP

Virginia

Rep. Bobby Scott has won his re-election bid with 67.29% of the vote (66% of precincts reporting).

There’s a lot more coming in. Stay tuned.

[8:40 PM EST]

Ohio

Filipino American Rep. Steve Austria has been declared the winner in his re-election bid (OH-7).

South Carolina

Gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley is just about tied with Vincent Shaheen with 17% reporting

17% reporting

Candidate	Party	Votes	Pct.
Vincent Sheheen	Dem.	86,931	49.5%
Nikki Haley	Rep.	85,867	48.9%
Morgan Reeves	Green	2,718	1.5%

[9:22 PM EST]

More polls closed. More results coming in.

Ohio

Candidate	Votes	%
Jean Schmidt *	47,138	60
Surya Yalamanchili	25,363	32
Marc Johnston	5,644	7

With 20% of precincts reporting, Yalamanchili is beaten by Schmidt.

Pennsylvania

Numbers are finally coming in from PA-6. Trivedi trails slightly with 5% reporting.

Candidate	Votes	%
Jim Gerlach *	18,230	52
Manan Trivedi	16,938	48

Precincts: 5% | Updated: 9:13 PM ET | Source: AP

Michigan

Only 1% reporting so far in Hansen Clarke’s race.

Candidate	Votes	%
John Hauler	1,451	54
Hansen Clarke	1,154	43
Other	61	2

Precincts: 1% | Updated: 9:17 PM ET | Source: AP

[9:48 PM EST]

Everything on the news seems to be painting a pretty bleak picture for the Democrats.

On another note, we finally have something to start with on the two Louisiana Congressional races:

LA Results 1%

Also, checking in on our other races:

South Carolina

Haley leads slightly with 53% reporting.

Governor58% reporting

Candidate	Party	Votes	Pct.
Nikki Haley	Rep.	347,677	50.3%
Vincent Sheheen	Dem.	332,411	48.1%
Morgan Reeves	Green	10,566	1.5%

Georgia

State Assembly candidate BJ Pak is still ahead with 71% of the vote (20% reporting).

Michigan

Hansen Clarke has moved way ahead with 20% reporting and has already declared victory.

Candidate	Votes	%
Hansen Clarke	15,321	87
John Hauler	1,928	11
Other	305	2

Precincts: 21% | Updated: 9:48 PM ET | Source: AP

Kansas

Raj Goyle trails with 6% reporting.

Candidate	Votes	%
Mike Pompeo	6,237	61
Raj Goyle	3,416	34
Other	526	5

Precincts: 6% | Updated: 9:47 PM ET | Source: AP

[10:24 PM EST]

Hansen Clarke has won and will become the first Bangladeshi American to serve in the U.S. Congress. He currently has 83% of the votes with 40% of all precincts reporting.

We also just launched a table showing the latest numbers for each of the candidates we’re tracking. You can see it here: http://bit.ly/AAPIresults2010

Other updates:

South Carolina

Nikki Haley has a slight lead with 69% reporting.

Governor69% reporting

Candidate	Party	Votes	Pct.
Nikki Haley	Rep.	425,237	50.6%
Vincent Sheheen	Dem.	402,580	47.9%
Morgan Reeves	Green	12,924	1.5%

Pennsylvania

Trivedi still trails with 23% reporting.

Jim Gerlach	23,560	55
Manan Trivedi	19,601	45

Precincts: 23% | Updated: 10:13 PM ET | Source: AP

Kansas

Goyle’s campaign is falling behind in KS-4.

Mike Pompeo	20,922	57
Raj Goyle	13,892	38
Other	1,644	5

Precincts: 17% | Updated: 10:13 PM ET | Source: AP

Louisiana

Both Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao and Ravi Sangisetty appear destined to lose their House races.

Louisiana 2

[10:34 PM EST]

As predicted, both Louisiana candidates (Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao and Ravi Sangisetty) have been defeated.

The situation looks equally bleak for Raj Goyle in Kansas, who currently holds 36% of the vote with 41% of all precincts reporting.

Pennsylvania

Dr. Trivedi in PA-6 is evenly matched with Rep. Gerlach with 28% of all precincts reporting.

Candidate	Votes	%
Jim Gerlach	30,685	51
Manan Trivedi	29,182	49

Precincts: 28% | Updated: 10:33 PM ET | Source: AP

South Carolina

Nikki Haley is pulling ahead with 77% of all precincts reporting.

Governor77% reporting

Candidate	Party	Votes	Pct.
Nikki Haley	Rep.	507,593	51.7%
Vincent Sheheen	Dem.	459,510	46.8%
Morgan Reeves	Green	15,049	1.5%

[10:51 PM EST]

Nikki Haley has been declared the winner in South Carolina, a historic first for the state.

Polls are also about to close on the West Coast, which means we’ll have a lot to sort through on the second half of our slate. The tally so far:

Wins: Nikki Haley, Hansen Clarke, Steve Austria, Bobby Scott

Losses: Anh “Joseph” Cao, Ravi Sangisetty, Surya Yalamanchili

The two remaining Congressional candidates outside of the West Coast and Hawaii are not looking too strong right now.

Trivedi has 44% of the vote with 62% reporting.

Goyle has 36% of the vote with 48% reporting.

[11:27 PM EST]

We’re going to hold for a bit as we wait for more data from the West Coast to come in. For now, we can add two more South Asian Congressional candidates, Manan Trivedi and Raj Goyle, to the list of losses.

Updated tally:

Wins: Nikki Haley, Hansen Clarke, Steve Austria, Bobby Scott

Losses: Anh “Joseph” Cao, Ravi Sangisetty, Surya Yalamanchili, Raj Goyle, Manan Trivedi

[12:31 AM EST]

On the West Coast, incumbent Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) have largely cruised to victory. Rep. David Wu won in Oregon, and both Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Doris Matsui have won in California, with Rep. Judy Chu well positioned to follow suit.

The two California Congressional challengers, Ami Bera and Van Tran, are facing tougher races. Bera trails the incumbent with 53% of precincts reporting, while Tran is evenly tied (though with only 1% reporting).

Candidate	Votes	%
Dan Lungren	36,095	49
Ami Bera	32,799	44
Other	5,103	7

Precincts: 53% | Updated: 12:24 AM ET | Source: AP

Candidate	Votes	%
Loretta Sanchez	14,643	47
Van Tran	14,537	47
Ceci Iglesias	1,662	5

Precincts: 1% | Updated: 12:24 AM ET | Source: AP

Lastly, Kamala Harris remains slightly behind the frontrunner in the CA Attorney General race with 18% of all precincts reporting.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Percentage
Steve Cooley	Rep.	1,329,807	49.3%
Kamala Harris	Dem.	1,143,273	42.4%
Timothy Hannan	Lib.	71,010	2.6%
Peter Allen	Green	64,174	2.4%
Diane Templin	A.I.P.	47,984	1.8%
Robert Evans	P.A.F	40,831	1.5%

[1:26 AM EST]

Haven’t seen much new official info from CA or Hawaii. However, the Hawaii Star Advertiser did send this out over their twitter feed:

“1st printout: Inouye up 73-20; Hanabusa up 51-44; Abercerombie/Schatz up 58-41”

[WRAP-UP]

It’s been a long, interesting night. The GOP have gained control of the House of Representatives, two AAPI incumbent Members of Congress have lost their seats, and two AAPI challengers have won.

California

Both Congressional challengers in California, Bera and Tran, lost their races.

Dan Lungren *	96,596	51
Ami Bera	81,532	43
Other	12,942	7

Precincts: 100% | Updated: 12:17 PM ET | Source: AP

Loretta Sanchez*	31,558	51
Van Tran	26,042	42
Ceci Iglesias	4,298	7

Precincts: 100% | Updated: 12:17 PM ET | Source: AP

In another race, Attorney General Kamala Harris still holds a razor thin lead, but the race is too close to call.

Hawaii

As expected, Senator Inouye and Rep. Mazie Hirono easily won re-election. Neil Abercrombie, a former Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, is now Governor of Hawaii.

The real race to watch in Hawaii was the battle for the 1st Congressional district between State Senator Colleen Hanabusa and recently elected Rep. Charles Djou. Hanabusa prevailed in this race with 53.2% of the vote to Djou’s 46.8% (100% reporting).

—

We’re still following up on some state level races as well as waiting to hear on Kamala Harris. For now, APAICS extends a warm congratulations to the two newest AAPI Members of Congress: Hansen Clarke and Colleen Hanabusa!

By: Gene Kim

Posted in: Campaign Tracker | View Comments (0)