Political shifts in Nevada’s growing Asian population paint a conflicting message about the swing state’s pivotal role in the presidential election.
While record numbers of Asian American eligible voters have moved to the Silver State, the voting block could also be trending away from its historically deep blue roots. Now, Nevada’s growing Asian population could contribute to making the state a potential tossup in the 2024 election between President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump.
Between 2012 and 2022, Nevada saw the nation’s biggest increase in its Asian American Pacific Islander population, a voting block Democrats have traditionally counted on.
“We’re one of the only states that had more [Asian American and Pacific Islander] voters vote for the first time in 2022 than in 2018,” Amy Koo, the political director at One APIA Nevada, told KTNV. “That’s an indicator of how much our community has grown and how crucial we are to the margin of victory.”
However, while the Pew Research Center found that an overwhelming majority of Asian voters, 70%, supported Biden in 2020, increasing numbers of Asian voters are moving away from the Democratic Party.
Thirty percent of Asian Americans nationally voted Republican in 2020, up from 18% in 2016.
The Republican trajectory seems to be mirrored in the Silver State.
In 2016, Trump garnered 29% of Asian votes in Nevada, up 8 points compared to Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2012.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
During the 2020 presidential election, Trump made further inroads in the Asian American vote, with 40% of Asians voting Republican. That number was up 11% from 2016.
In 2020, Trump lost Nevada by 2.4%. Recent polls show Trump leading Biden by 9% in Nevada,
