The AAPI Victory Fund is a Political Action Committee that focuses on mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) eligible voters and supports Democrat AAPI candidates.
 | |
| Formation | 2016 |
|---|---|
Key people | Shekar Narasimhan (Chair and Founder) Bel Leong-Hong (Co-Founder) Dilawar Syed (Co-Founder) Tung Nguyen (Co-Founder) Norman Mineta (Chair, National Leadership Council)) |
| Affiliations | Democratic |
| Website | aapivictoryfund |
In September 2019, the organization hosted the first Democratic Presidential Forum for the AAPI community. Held at the Segerstrom Center in Orange County, Presidential candidates Tulsi Gabbard, Tom Steyer, and Andrew Yang attended the townhall forum.[1] On January 17, 2020, the AAPI Victory Fund endorsed Joe Biden for president.[2] On May 5, 2021, they endorsed Andrew Yang for Mayor of New York City.[3] On July 21, 2024, they endorsed Kamala Harris for president.
Contributions to Candidates
editSince its founding, AAPI Victory Fund has raised 2.8 million U.S. dollars and has made nearly $14,000 in individual contributions to presidential, senate, and house candidates. The organization spent $500,000 in independent expenditures.[4]
| Year Cycle | Funds Raised | Presidential Contributions | Senate Contributions | House Contributions | Independent Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1,551,290 | Joe Biden (D) | $3,030 | Bernie Sanders (D-VT) | $2,673
John Hickenlooper (D-CO) | $50 |
Gil Cisneros (D-CA) | $2500
Judy Chu (D-CA) | $225 Donna Imam (D-TX) | $185 Gina Ortiz Jones (D-TX) | $185 Sri Kulkarni (D-TX) | $185 Sima Ladjevardian (D-TX) | $185 Helane Seikaly (D-TX) | $185 |
FOR Joe Biden (D) | $149,984
FOR MJ Hegar (D-TX) $133,965 |
| 2018 | $544,724 | None | None | Andrew Janz (D-CA) | $560
Grace Meng (D-NY) | $500 Gina Ortiz Jones (D-TX) | $100 Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) | $75 Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) | $18 |
FOR Jon Ossoff (D-GA) | $2,998
FOR Hiral Tipirneni (D-AZ) | $5,000 |
| 2016 | $703,107 | Hillary Clinton (D) | $1,700 | Katie McGinty (D-PA) | $1,364 | None | AGAINST Richard Burr (R-NC) | $10,420
AGAINST Joe Heck (R-NV) | $10,000 AGAINST Donald Trump (R) | $72,120
FOR Hillary Clinton (D) | $93,668 FOR Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) | $13,499 FOR Deborah Ross (D-NC) | $11,080 |
Controversies
editOn March 12, 2019, Open Secrets reported that a Chinese-owned company provided illegal contributions through its US-based American Pacific International Capital (APIC) to Jeb Bush's super PAC Right to Rise. APIC also made contributions to the AAPI Victory Fund and was the organization's fifth largest donor for the 2016 election cycle.[6]
References
edit- ^ Zint, Bradley (September 8, 2019). "Three Democratic presidential hopefuls state their case at forum in Costa Mesa". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Fuchs, Chris (January 17, 2020). "Asian American super PAC endorses Joe Biden". NBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Andrew Yang gets backing from national PAC in NYC mayor race". NBC News. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "AAPI Victory Fund PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates". OpenSecrets.
- ^ "AAPI Victory Fund PAC Profile". OpenSecrets.
- ^ "Chinese-owned company that gave illegal $1.3 million to Jeb Bush super PAC also gave to pro-Clinton groups". OpenSecrets. 2019-03-12.