2025 Elections See Historic Surge in AA & NH/PI Candidates

WASHINGTON — In the 2025 election cycle, 496 Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AA & NH/PI) candidates ran for office at the local and state levels. Every year, the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) actively tracks AA & NH/PI candidates running for office at all levels of public service through its AA & NH/PI Candidate Pipeline.

“This year we’ve seen nearly 500 AA & NH/PI candidates seek elected office at the local and state levels—an astonishing 130% increase from 2023. This marks a historic record of AA & NH/PI candidates for an off-election year,” said Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, President & CEO of APAICS. “We’ve also seen an increase in AA & NH/PI women candidates this cycle. Of the 190 AA & NH/PI women who ran for office, 120 have won their races or are projected to win. APAICS is proud to see continued growth in the number of AA & NH/PI candidates and applauds these leaders for rising to the task of representing our communities in office.”

The 2025 election cycle has also seen many historic firsts for the AA & NH/PI community:

• Ghazala Hashmi - Elected Lt. Governor of Virginia; the first South Asian person elected statewide in Virginia and the first Muslim woman to win a statewide seat in the U.S.

• May Nivar - Elected to the Virginia House of Delegates; the first Chinese American elected to the Virginia state legislature. (2024 APAICS National Leadership Academy Alum.)

• JJ Singh - The first Sikh American elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

• Zohran Mamdani - The first South Asian and Muslim Mayor of New York City, the nation’s largest city.

• Kaohly Her - The first Hmong American and woman elected as Mayor of St. Paul, MN.

• Pulkit Desai - The first Asian American Mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, NJ.

• Gina Ortiz Jones - The first Asian American woman and openly gay Mayor of San Antonio, TX. (Elected in a run-off election in June 2025.)

• Singh Swarnjit - The first Sikh American Mayor of Norwich, CT.

• Mohammed Suhel Ahmed - The first South Asian American elected to the Atlantic City Council.

• Ashfaq Syed - The first South Asian American elected to the Naperville City Council.

Additionally, Aftab Pureval—the first Asian American Mayor of Cincinnati—and Michelle Wu—the first Asian American and woman Mayor of Boston—were elected to a second term.

APAICS programs focus on developing leadership, building public policy knowledge, and filling the political pipeline for AA & NH/PIs to pursue local, state, and federal public office. Through its National and Regional Leadership Academies and Women’s Collective, APAICS provides non-partisan leadership training programs for current elected officials and individuals seeking to run for public office.

Learn more about APAICS here.

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The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) is a national non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting Asian Pacific American participation and representation at all levels of the political process, from community service to elected office.