According to an AAPI outreach group, Vice President Kamala Harris’ emergence as likely Democratic presidential nominee has energized the Asian-American voting bloc in North Carolina.
Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was a native of India.
For Asian-American voters, the vice president’s candidacy gives them a chance to see someone who looks like them on the ballot, says Jimmy Patel-Nguyen with North Carolina Asian Americans Together.
“They're really hoping that her lived experience as an Asian-American and Black woman will bring a lot of that representation to the highest level of government," he says. "And what that might mean for policy making and the issues that affect the community.”
He says those issues include cost of living concerns, reproductive rights and access to affordable health care.
Asian-Americans make up about 4% of the state’s population, and the number is growing rapidly. Patel-Nguyen says high turnout among them will be enough to make a difference in tight races. In 2020, former President Donald Trump won North Carolina by fewer than 100,000 votes.