Asian American voters could decide New Jersey gubernatorial election

The Democratic Party is not outreaching enough to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters and could risk the party’s gubernatorial run in deep blue Florida. New Jersey — is home to one of the largest concentrations of Asian Americans in the country, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) official has warned.

“We have lost ground with many of our communities,” Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman Chastity Conrad told Fox Digital after his 2024 election loss. “The Asian American community was one of them. Where we found that… more votes went toward it Donald Trump“Not overall, but in terms of the change from 2020 to 2024, there was a decline in support for Democrats.”

“I’ve definitely seen there be a bigger play from the Republican Party to reach out to Asian American voters, especially in the last few years,” Conrad added. “And, you know, while there’s also been a lot of anti-Asian rhetoric and anti-Asian hate that has come from the Republican Party, there’s also been a real kind of exploitation of concerns about the economy, about the impact of taxes on the Asian American community, and that there are more Republicans who have actually gone, you know, to Asian community spaces.”

2025 is an off-season election year, with only Virginia and New Jersey holding gubernatorial elections, and New York City holding a highly anticipated mayoral race.

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Reps. Mickey Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli face off in a gubernatorial debate as they compete to become the next governor of New Jersey. (Heather Khalifa/Associated Press)

New Jersey has long been a Democratic stronghold, having previously voted for a Republican presidential candidate during former President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 election. However, Trump has made significant inroads with New Jersey voters in the 2024 election, sparking renewed enthusiasm among Republicans to flip the state red.

New Jersey voted to elect the former Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the 2024 race, but post-election data showed Trump and the GOP flipped five counties red. Overall, Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points to six points in 2024.

Democratic Rep. Mickey Sherrill was elected The party’s candidate for governor He will face Republican Jack Ciattarelli at the polls on November 4.

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New Jersey has a large Asian American population, just over 1 million people in a state of about 9.5 million people. Voting data for 2024 shows there are 584,236 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the state.

Conrad, who is also chairman of the Washington State Democratic Party, told Fox Digital that not reaching out to the voting bloc could hurt the Democratic Party’s efforts to retain the governor’s office. She said she reminds party members that “there are a million Asian Americans in New Jersey” and that “as Democrats, we have not invested as much as we could in the community at our own peril.”

(L-R) Sophia Danenberg, Chasti Conrad, and Jonelle Cafiero attend the DNC’s “Our Future, Our Freedom” Celebration Gala in Chicago in 2024. (Jeff Shear/Getty Images)

AAPI voters “are the fastest-growing demographic in this country, and we are growing in the states we need to win,” she added. “We’re growing in the South. We’re growing in population in North Carolina, in Georgia, in Texas.”

Nationally, 57% of Asian voters backed Harris in 2024, but Trump also improved his margins with the voting bloc compared to 2020. Trump saw one in four Asian votes cast for him in 2024 compared to his 30% of the Asian vote in 2020, according to Pew data.

The DNC leader said the party needs to meet AAPI voters in their community, whether it’s at synagogues, churches or Asian-owned businesses, and hear their concerns directly.

The voting bloc includes many cultural backgrounds and is therefore a very nuanced group. Conrad noted the diversity of the group when listing the top voting concerns shared by AAPI voters, including the economy and immigration — most notably how they relate to H-1B visas.

Republicans have met with Asian voters at their churches, businesses and at other cultural events in recent history, with the party increasingly throwing its support behind Asian candidates as well, Conrad said.

“They did more,” Conrad said of the GOP. “They’ve also fielded more Asian candidates, which…sometimes it’s confusing for voters, particularly the Asian American community, where there’s a lot of pride in having leadership, you know, from the community.”

She called on Democrats to include Asian voters in their joint campaign platforms that focus on black, Latino, rural and young voters.

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Indian American signs Donald Trump rally in Edison, New Jersey, an Indian-American Hindu rally for “Humanity United Against Terrorism.” (Joe Sohm/America Visions/Global Image Collection via Getty Images)

“When we talk about the importance of really building that coalition, we have to continue to say and include Asian Americans in that as well,” she said. “And I think sometimes we neglect, you know, we don’t even think about it or remember it as a really important community to engage with.”

“Throughout the campaign, Mickey has partnered directly with Asian communities, sharing her vision for cutting costs, strengthening support for small businesses, and ensuring people have the opportunity to realize the American dream here in New Jersey,” Cheryl campaign spokesperson Sam Chan told Fox News Digital when asked about AAPI outreach.

“As Governor, Mickey will work to ensure Trenton serves everyone,” Chan continued. “Mickey will make it easier to start and grow a small business and reduce costs, ensure full funding for our schools, defend our constitutional rights and uphold the law. Mickey’s ‘Save Time and Money’ agenda will help business owners launch and expand their ventures, while the utility cost emergency will end rising prices and lower electric bills.”

Chan also criticized Trump in his remarks, saying Ciattarelli “cheers Trump as he attacks our communities, steals billions from our schools and our transit system, raises prices with his unaffordable tariffs, and Mikey runs to fight for all New Jerseyans.”

Fox News Digital also spoke with Parul Khemka, a New Jersey Democrat running for re-election to the Livingston Board of Education, who said Sherrill’s campaign is increasingly attending cultural events, including a Diwali celebration.

“Even within Bergen County, there’s a large East Asian population, so it’s benefited from that as well. It’s just that New Jersey is a little bit unconventional. You might think it’s one party, one thing…but different counties have their different characteristics, so you have to figure that out as you go.”

She added that Cheryl has participated in cultural events in her congressional district, which includes parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in North Jersey, and that her office has historically been friendly.

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Khemka said the AAPI community’s top priorities typically include education, immigration and visas, the economy and affordability, while also noting that the huge voting bloc is nuanced and diverse. AAPI voters have always leaned more to the left, in her view, but voters have moved more to the right as Trump campaigned to get the economy back on track after spiraling inflation, she said.

President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Matt Rourke/The Associated Press)

Kimka said Democrats are better positioned to appeal to AAPI voters because they understand the nuances of voters’ political concerns rather than broad issues.

“Obviously the Democratic Party is doing a little bit better than the Democratic Party Republican Party “Understanding these are the nuanced issues, and it doesn’t paint everyone with the same brush,” she said, adding that New Jersey’s AAPI community could make or break Democrats in retaining the governor’s mansion.

Sherrill’s campaign, for example, deployed multilingual phone banking and canvassing programs in cities with high levels of Asian voters, where Sherrill herself also met with voters in their communities.

Sherrill’s campaign has had more successes with AAPI voters in recent months, Conrad said, pointing to outreach events over the weekend that included DNC Chairman Ken Martin also traveling to the Garden State to rally support for the ticket.

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“We did a panel geared toward AAPI. And then … DNC Chairman Ken Martin hosted an AAPI roundtable to meet with AAPI leaders and show that engagement. I’ve heard, even in just a month, I’ve heard a huge change from the community about feeling like they’re, you know, more directly involved in Sherrill’s campaign, and we feel better about that,” Conrad said.

“I think this work is already happening,” she added, praising efforts by the Democratic Party’s AAPI caucus, specifically South Asians for America, to rally Democratic support ahead of high-stakes elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

New Jersey’s gubernatorial election is scheduled for November 4.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ciattarelli’s campaign on Thursday for comment on the AAPI outreach and has not yet received a response.