On April 15, 2020, South Korea held its legislative elections. The legislative elections were meant to be a referendum on the current Moon administration’s performance on all issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to his radical economic reforms. What resulted was the largest defeat for the conservative bloc, led by the United Future Party’s leader Hwang Kyo-Ahn, since 1960. Unlike other observers of this election, I was not surprised at these results. These results, along with the conservative bloc’s failures to win the presidential and local elections, were only a part of South Korea’s long trend towards more left-leaning voting preferences. Although I do not wish to equate political trends in Korea with those in the United States, I find it interesting that similar trends exist among Asian American voters in recent years. The question for conservatives both here and abroad is why they have lost support among voters of Asian descent, as well as how to win it back.
Contrary to what I first believed, there was a time when Asian American immigrants fervently supported conservatives and the Republican Party. In his Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics, Jeffrey D. Schultz wrote of how, from the 1940s to 1980s, most immigrants from East Asia were anti-communist refugees with a strong affinity to conservative groups. It was this common distrust of the communist system, combined with the Republican Party’s hawkish stance towards the 2nd World which forged a strong bond between Asian Americans and conservative groups well into the 1990’s, when George H.W. Bush received more Asian American votes than Bill Clinton. In addition, many Asian Americans held the same policy positions as those of the Republican Party. As recently as 2012, a Pew Research study found that 37% of Asian Americans oppose abortion, and 35% support heterosexual relations, thus indicating a great deal of social conservatism. Furthermore, the defense of Los Angeles’ Koreatown by Korean American business owners during the 1992 L.A. riots demonstrated considerable support for the right to bear arms. With Asian Americans’ opposition to communism, support of the Second Amendment, and socially conservative positions, the question remains: What happened?
As alluded to previously, there has been a greater trend among Asian Americans to support the more liberal Democratic Party. The 2012 National Asian American survey found that, while the majority of Asian Americans identified themselves as non-partisan, 33% identified as Democrats and a mere 14% identified as Republicans. That is a significant decline from the 55% that supported George H.W. Bush in 1992. Part of the reason for this decline has been an increasing concern over race and immigration among Asian Americans. According to a study by the organization, Asia and Pacific Islander Vote (APIAvote), a majority of Asian Americans had the same views as the Democratic Party on racial profiling, immigration reform, and education. With the news media repeatedly playing sound-bites of Donald Trump’s fiery remarks targeting illegal immigration, there was concern among Asian Americans that they may be adversely affected by his presidency. In addition, Asian American political support is divided along generational lines, with those born outside the United States holding more conservative views than those born in the country. As a result of both an increasing concern over immigration and a widening generational gap, we saw that 55% of Asian Americans voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, compared to a mere 14% voting for Donald Trump.
So how does the Republican Party win back the supporters of Asian Americans? The first thing is to increase outreach to the Asian American community. As shown before, the majority of Asian Americans identify as non-partisan. This is an untapped voting bloc that neither party has significantly invested time nor money into recruiting and registering. By engaging with the Asian American community, the Republican Party can begin a constructive dialogue and craft policies that will benefit them and the country as a whole. Next, Republicans need to make an effort to separate Trump’s statements from his policies. In other words, Republicans need to focus on the issues that prospective voters will care about. Observing my family and community throughout the 2016 election cycle, I found that they cared about three things: the economy, national security, and the Supreme Court’s future. When they focused on those issues, rather than Trump’s rhetoric, they were able to vote for the Republican Party down-ballot. Lastly, the Republican Party needs to advocate for immigration reform. President Trump successfully passing immigration reform would not only ease the fears of Asian Americans but also tear down the largest barrier towards their support of the Republican Party.
Of course, Cornell’s conservative groups cannot pass immigration reform or directly affect education policy. But, we can still take important steps to form bonds with Asian American groups on campus. First, Cornell’s conservative organizations need to reach out to Asian American groups on campus. Cornellians for Life should increase their outreach to Asian American faith-based organizations that share their pro-life stances. Groups like the Alexander Hamilton Society should host a joint-event with DebuNK, an organization raising awareness of North Korea’s human rights abuses. Second, Cornell’s conservatives need to regain control of the narrative and separate rhetoric from actual policy. We need to be able to communicate our party’s position accurately and truthfully to Asian Americans on campus. Lastly, we need to encourage Asian American membership in our organizations. I am so thankful to have been involved in the Cornell Republicans, Cornellians for Life, and, most notably, The Cornell Review, and I look forward to my future involvement in all three. However, we need to increase Asian American membership to break down the myth of a monolithic Republican Party.
I leave you, the reader, with this. Both of my grandfathers escaped the communist regime of North Korea to find freedom in the South. My Korean parents came to this country looking for a better and freer life for their children. With the Democratic Party further embracing the very socialist values my grandparents fled from, it is more important now more than ever for us, Cornell’s conservatives, to build Asian American support and save the land of opportunity, our shared Promised Land.
