MANILA, Philippines – The previously overlooked segment of Filipino American voters in swing state Nevada may be the deciding factor in the state’s election results, according to a New York Times report.
The registered Filipino American voters in the swing state number nearly 59,000 — the largest group of Asian American voters in Nevada. The state has the most Asian American registered voters, making up 12% of the electorate.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won Nevada by just over 33,000 votes.
Nevada is one of the seven key battleground states, with the other six being Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. Based on public opinion polls, these states can swing either Democratic or Republican once election results start pouring in, unlike other states such as California which has mostly voted blue in recent presidential elections.
Nevada is home to one of the fastest-growing Filipino communities, where Filipino Americans have taken up jobs in teaching, caring for the sick, and manning the casinos. It had previously been hard for campaigns to reach the group, with researchers pointing to the Spanish surnames — the result of being a Spanish colony for a little over three centuries — and are more dispersed compared with other groups.
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Both campaigns of Democrat candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Republican candidate Donald Trump have tried to reach the Pinoy vote more intentionally this time around. The New York Times reports that some candidates have also shown up to Filipino events.
For instance, vice presidential candidate Governor Tim Walz and Harris’ sister, Maya, have campaigned to Filipino American voters in Nevada. Many Filipino community leaders also attended Harris’ outreach to Asian American voters in Las Vegas.
Harris’ campaign has come up with “Pinoy Pride” billboards around Las Vegas. Her campaign ads now also have Filipino community leaders as talking heads for issues such as the economy and healthcare.
Joel Enriquez, a Filipino American business owner who was featured in one of Harris’ ads, noted the shift. “We’re not just warm bodies at their campaign events anymore.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign has sent Sam Brown, a candidate for the Senate, to a Filipino community event. The Republicans are also relying on Filipino American figures such as Filipino American comedian Jo Koy’s mother, Josie Harrison.
But aside from that, Trump’s campaign is more laidback in their strategy as his team believes his track record can appeal to a wide-range of voters. “He created an environment where diversity, equal opportunity and prosperity were afforded to everybody,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s campaign, was quoted in the report.
A Pew Research Center report, based on a poll from July 2022 to January 2023, has found that around two-thirds of Filipino Americans are Democrats, while the remaining lean Republican. This is on trend with the other Asian American groups.
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Filipino Americans have the lowest voter turnout among Asian Americans, the New York Times noted. Filipino community leaders pointed out that the group has less time to be involved in political activities because of having multiple jobs.
However, recent initiatives such as registration drives done at Filipino supermarkets and having candidate town halls are convincing more Pinoys to show up for this election cycle. — Rappler.com
