The New York Republican State Committee has announced the formation of a new Asian Caucus.
In a speech on Monday at the party’s state convention, New York GOP Chair Nicholas Langworthy stated enthusiastically on stage, “We will stand with our Asian friends that have crimes committed against them” and asserted Asian Americans were “a critical part” of the state GOP’s future.
He was joined on stage by at least 60 Asian American Republicans, including the party’s New York City Regional Vice Chair, Chloe Sun, reported the New York Post.
In last year’s New York City mayoral election, Asian American voters heavily favored Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, NextShark previously reported.
As a New York Times op-ed published Wednesday notes, Asian Americans have “shifted” radically in the past three decades from firmly supporting Republicans to reliably voting Democrat. The recent rise of anti-Asian crimes during the pandemic and creation of educational policies that disfavor Asian American applicants, however, have the ability to disrupt these left-leaning voting trends.
The timing of the New York GOP’s announcement was noteworthy considering just this past month, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $10 million would be allocated to various Asian American groups, the largest investment ever put towards the New York Asian American community.
According to Pew, Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S., making them an increasingly important group to appeal to for political parties.
Featured Image via WMHT (left), Los Angeles Times (right)
