Three Candidates Attend First Asian American Democratic Presidential Forum

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A major Democratic presidential event geared toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander community was held for the first time in history this past weekend.

All Democratic presidential hopefuls were invited to the forum, which took place in Costa Mesa, California, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts on Sunday. Three candidates ― tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and activist Tom Steyer ― participated in the event.

Varun Nikore, president of one of the forum’s organizing groups, AAPI Victory Fund, told HuffPost that he felt more presidential hopefuls should’ve taken the opportunity to reach Asian American voters. “It’s unfortunate that candidates can’t be more straight with a constituency group that is the fastest-growing constituency group in the country,” he said. “This is a big missed opportunity.”

Nikore told HuffPost that while he felt the event was a success, campaigns have a long way to go before they’ve proven they value the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. He noted that he was disappointed the other candidates did not take the opportunity to speak to an important constituency, calling their inability to show up an “epic fail.” Going forward, Nikore said that Asian American and Pacific Islander groups will be holding candidates’ “feet to the fire” and demanding they do a better job of outreach to the community.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asian-american-pacific-islander-democratic-presidential-forum_n_5d768e01e4b064513572a286