How Asian voters' rightward shift could make a difference this session.

Dec 05, 2024

Presented by

State Sen. Iwen Chu (center) stands with two supporters campaigning outside a poll site in Bath Beach, Brooklyn.

Democratic state Sen. Iwen Chu fell short of reelection as Asian American voters continue to shift right. The trend is increasing the need for Democrats to make inroads with the communities. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO

TURNING RED: Asian American voters in New York are increasingly shifting red — and Democrats are trying to stop the bleeding.

And that dynamic is propelling a lobbying effort from the Coalition of Asian-American Independent Practice Associations (CAIPA), a group representing independent physicians that has sought to increasingly wield influence in Albany as the need for Democratic inroads with Asian Americans grows.

In the wake of Trump’s decisive victory and the Democratic autopsy underway nationally, party representatives in the city’s Asian American communities are undergoing a post-mortem of their own.

“This is not a fluke,” said Assemblymember Grace Lee, co-chair of the body’s Asian Pacific American Task Force and the co-chair of the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, which organizes in competitive districts.

“This is a trend that has been happening over the course of a number of years,” she added.

Those trends were born out in this year’s Election Day results.

In a South Brooklyn district representing Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, Democratic state Sen. Iwen Chu lost to Republican Steve Chan.

In the East Asian neighborhood of Flushing, Queens, Democratic Assemblymember Ron Kim saw his district go decisively for Trump even as he was able to hold onto his seat

And across the city, in areas where at least 45 percent of constituents are Asian, Kamala Harris saw her support drop 37 percent from President Joe Biden’s showing in 2020. Meanwhile, Trump increased his margin by 19 points, according to a New York Times analysis.

“The recent immigrants of Chinese, Asian descent have voted for Trump out of extreme frustration in the lack of delivery of solutions for their middle-class and working-class families,” Kim said, noting that “Flushing’s gone red” for the last few cycles now.

“They're angry, but they don't really know who to blame or how to fix the problem. They just know that they no longer trust whatever is being sold to them,” he added.

Both Lee and Kim said the debate over admissions to specialized high schools, a rise in anti-Asian hate and concerns about inflation have boosted Asian American support for Republicans in the city.

The shift is forcing Democrats like Kim and Lee to strategize how to win those voters back. And coalitions advocating in Albany on behalf of Asian Americans are seeing opportunity in the red shift.

CAIPA says the shift bolsters its relevance.

“Our community is very reliant on physicians, and physicians really, in the health care business, they're very aligned with Democrats,” said Peggy Sheng, who oversees CAIPA’s political activities. “We can make the influence, provided that the government works with us and try to promote more health care programs and really look at the needs of the community besides health care, like personal safety.”

The group, which mainly focuses on issues around medicine, like laws governing medical malpractice filings or Medicaid funding, ramped up their little-known political action committee this year and boosted both Kim and Chu through digital ads and Chinese-language media pushes.

Ahead of the upcoming session, CAIPA is hoping to push Gov. Kathy Hochul to fund programs like the Medicaid Quality Incentive Program, which incentivizes providers to make changes that address health disparities for low-income New Yorkers. Lawmakers keen on building support among Asian American communities will be sure to take note.

“This is kind of new for the Asian American community to see this type of organizing happen,” said Lee. “It really is coming at a really important time for the Asian American community, where often we feel targeted, but unseen, and it's time for us to really make sure we're exercising our political power.” — Jason Beeferman

A message from Uber:

Study Reveals Uber Drivers Make More than EMTs: NYC Uber drivers now earn an average of $52,900 annually after expenses, outpacing the salaries of many essential city employees, including EMTs and sanitation workers. Despite delivering vital services, these workers struggle with stagnant wages while Uber drivers have benefited from five TLC-mandated pay hikes since 2020. Read more on the wage disparity impacting NYC’s workforce. Learn More.

From the Capitol

A woman in a navy blue suit stands at a wood podium

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office today announced the state of the state will be given at the Hart Theater in The Egg, the iconic Albany performing arts space. | Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

EGGHEAD: When Hochul delivers her State of the State address on Jan. 14, she’ll be speaking in a different venue from recent years.

Hochul’s office today announced the speech will be given at the Hart Theater in The Egg, the iconic Albany performing arts space. The distinctive, ovular building sits at the edge of the Empire State Plaza across the street from the Capitol.

Hochul gave her first three State of the State addresses in the opulent Assembly chamber — a return to tradition for most governors. It was meant to distinguish her from predecessor Andrew Cuomo, who preferred to hold the event in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. — Nick Reisman

BREAKING BREAD: Hochul had breakfast with the Rev. Al Sharpton this morning at the Loews Regency on Park Avenue.

Sharpton helpfully shared a photo of the meal with the governor on his Instagram account.

The breakfast — which Sharpton described as “productive” — took place as Hochul comes under withering criticism from Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, who is weighing a primary bid against the governor. The timing of the breakfast wasn’t lost on Hochul supporters. — Nick Reisman

REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss.

FROM THE DELEGATION

Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) arrive for a ceremony marking the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Democrats attribute their three flipped seats — and new members John Mannion, Josh Riley and Laura Gillen — in part to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s new coordinated campaign and the new Battleground New York alliance of unions and left-leaning groups. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

CONSOLATION PRIZES: With the final House race called, it has become clearer that New York and California were bright spots for House Democrats in an otherwise brutal election year. The wins came as their party plowed substantial cash into the blue bastions after their 2022 drubbing, POLITICO reports today.

Earlier this week, the last votes counted in California revealed that Democrat Adam Gray flipped a seat, giving Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries 215 members next year, compared to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) with 220. Meanwhile, Trump has been appointing Republican House members to Cabinet positions, creating four vacancies so far.

New York’s races were called much closer to Election Day, and Democrats attribute their three flipped seats — and new members John Mannion, Josh Riley and Laura Gillen — to the $50 million in House Majority PAC spending (nearly four times more than in the midterms), Hochul, Jeffries and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s new coordinated campaign, and the new Battleground New York alliance of unions and left-leaning groups.

“Frankly, I think in 2022, we, the Democrats, were surprised by some of those races, and certainly had not put a lot of money or organization or attention into those,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said in an interview. “This time around, there was no surprise. … The state party was far more involved. Certainly, we in the delegation in Congress were very actively campaigning in those districts, and you just had high-quality candidates.” — Emily Ngo

Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today.

FROM CITY HALL

Tom Homan speaks as Donald Trump looks on at campaign event.

Tom Homan said on Tuesday that he plans to call Eric Adams to coordinate plans for deportation in the city. | Matt Rourke/AP

HOMAN INTEREST: New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he will meet the incoming border czar to discuss impending plans for mass deportations. Adams, speaking during MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today, said that he has a Dec. 12 meeting on the books with Tom Homan, the former Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to handle immigration matters.

"I want to hear the actual plan, how we are going to actually operationalize this," Adams said, referring to pledges from Homan to begin deporting undocumented immigrants en masse, with a priority on those who have committed crimes in the U.S.

Adams' team declined to provide additional details about the upcoming meeting, and the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for more information. But the two officials have repeatedly expressed openness to a sitdown in recent days.

On Monday, Homan said during an interview on FOX that he had been notified Adams had requested an audience. A day later, the former acting ICE director said he was planning to call the mayor. And on Thursday, Adams expressed support for ridding the city of undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes.

"We're not talking about those who are stealing apples," he said. "We are talking about those who are shooting at police officers, raping individuals, and I would like to hear the border czar's plan on addressing that." — Joe Anuta

PRESCHOOLERS LEFT BEHIND: Preschool students with disabilities are not receiving the services to which they are legally entitled, according to an audit State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released today.

Out of 550 school districts that responded to a survey, 83 percent said they have waitlists, DiNapoli’s office found. In site visits to an additional 40 districts, auditors found that 21 — or 53 percent — also maintained waitlists.

The audit covers July 2018 through January.

“Providing timely, quality early education services to preschool children with special needs can make a world of difference in their development, and delays can have long term consequences for their academic futures,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Too many children are not getting the services and therapies they are entitled to within required timeframes and some are not getting the services at all.”

He also said that the state Education Department struggled to monitor preschool special education programs due to a lack of data.

His recommendations include developing a strategy to tackle the shortage of providers statewide. State education officials agreed with the recommendations, and are developing a tool to provide real-time data so districts and parents can find the right programs for students, DiNapoli added.

In a response included in the audit, the department said it is working to boost efforts to provide better oversight and supports funding increases to expand services. A department spokesperson referred POLITICO to those comments. — Madina Touré

A message from Uber:

IN OTHER NEWS

— GOTV? IDK. NVM.: New York City ranks second to last in voter turnout among the nation’s biggest cities, with just 54 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. (Gothamist)

— COUNTERSUIT: As the jury deliberates, Jordan Neely’s father lodged a suit against Daniel Penny over the chokehold the latter used. (NY Post)

— MEDICAID GRIFT: Five people operating medical taxi companies in upstate New York pleaded guilty to more than $4 million in Medicaid fraud. (Times Union)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

A message from Uber:

Study Shows Uber Drivers making over $52k while NYC Heroes Get Left Behind

A new study reveals a growing wage divide in New York City: Uber drivers are making an average of $52,900 a year after expenses, while city employees like EMTs and sanitation workers starting salaries are below $44,000. Since 2020, rideshare drivers have received five pay increases through TLC mandates while many frontline city workers face stagnant wages amid rising living costs. This gap underscores an evolving dynamic in NYC’s workforce, where gig workers see consistent earnings growth while essential city roles lag behind. This pay disparity is raising questions about the city’s priorities and the need for equitable wages in public service amidst the affordability crisis.

Read the full story to see how gig work earnings are reshaping NYC’s labor landscape. Learn More.