Asian Americans - California’s Fastest Growing Minority

California Reps. Michelle Steel (R-48) and Young Kim (R-39)

Asian Americans now constitute the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in California. They were 11 percent of the population in 2000 and 17 percent in the 2020 census.

In Orange County, South and East Asian groups, Vietnamese and Korean, are the largest, especially in the north county. In the last decade, the Hispanic community went from 33 percent to 34 percent, whereas the Asian community grew from 18 percent to 22 percent today, adding about 200,000 new residents.

Although Asian Americans have been more likely to vote Democratic, they shifted about 10 points Republican in the last decade from the 20 to 30 percent level.

It is noticeable in Orange County, the two most prominent Republic politicians are Korean American, former County Supervisor and now Congressperson Michelle Steele, and her fellow member Young Kim.

Among the diverse Asian American community, polling shows the Vietnamese and Korean voters the least Democratic. The New York Times reports that a shift to a more conservative position, especially witnessed in the last midterm election, was related to education issues, especially access for bright Asian children, crime and anti-Asian incidents of violence. Republican candidate recruiting and community action have also been a factor.

Source: New York Times: “Asian Americans Shifting Right” by David Leonhardt, March 6, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/briefing/asian-americans-conservative-republican.html