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While most Asian American voters cast their votes for Kamala Harris, a record 39% supported Donald Trump in this year’s election. As many Harris voters continue to look for answers to explain the outcome, Trump supporters are pointing at grassroots efforts, voter education and targeted campaign strategies as levers for the historic shift.

• By the numbers: Latest exit polling data show that Kamala Harris won 54% of the overall Asian American vote, but Trump’s share grew to 39%, marking a five-point increase from 2020. Among Asian men, 55% voted for Harris, while 37% went for Trump. The Republican candidate’s share among Asian women was greater: 42% backed him, while 54% supported Harris.

• How this happened: Asians Making America Great Again (AsiansMAGA), the leading grassroots PAC supporting Trump among Asian Americans, attributes the political shift to targeted voter education and outreach. The group says it organized in-person and online rallies, placed advertisements in swing states, published op-eds and distributed an “Asian Voter Guide” in five Asian languages. “AsiansMAGA identified a gap in educating and messaging key policy issues to Asian American voters. We helped close that gap in Asian communities across battleground states, increasing this key voting bloc’s support for former President Trump,” said AsiansMAGA co-founder Holly Ham. The movement’s appeal lies in addressing frustrations with Democratic policies, which AsiansMAGA claims have harmed core community interests like economy, education, public safety and immigration. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, James Zarsadiaz, an associate professor of history at the University of San Francisco, pointed out that the GOP’s appeal is not merely a reflection of Trumpism but a broader dissatisfaction with the left. “Pundits and strategists alike have acknowledged that the Democratic Party is now perceived as the party of highly educated elites, A-list celebrities and wealthy cosmopolitans culturally out of step with everyday Americans,” Zarsadiaz wrote in part.

• Key consideration: Language access was found to be a significant hurdle in cities like New York and Philadelphia during Election Day. An exit poll by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) shows that 15% of Asian American voters identified themselves as either unable to speak English well enough or at all. Of these voters, 82% expressed a need for a translated ballot, while 26% did not have such a ballot. “Despite important protections for minority language speakers in the Voting Rights Act, we were troubled to hear from some voters that language assistance, even in places where they are mandated to provide interpreters, was unreliable, insufficient or nonexistent,” said AALDEF executive director Bethany Li.

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