The shifting political landscape among Nevada’s growing Asian community presents a complex narrative for the swing state’s role in future presidential elections.
As the Silver State experiences a surge in the number of Asian American eligible voters, the demographic’s voting tendencies appear to be evolving, potentially turning Nevada into a battleground state for the 2024 contest between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Over the past decade, Nevada has witnessed the most significant rise in its Asian American Pacific Islander population nationwide, a demographic that has traditionally leaned towards the Democratic Party.
“We’re one of the only states that had more [Asian American and Pacific Islander] voters vote for the first time in 2022 than in 2018,” noted Amy Koo, the political director at One APIA Nevada. “That’s an indicator of how much our community has grown and how crucial we are to the margin of victory.”
Despite the Democratic reliance on this voting bloc, recent trends suggest a shift. While 70% of Asian voters supported Biden in 2020, the Pew Research Center indicates a notable increase in Asian Americans aligning with the Republican Party, rising from 18% in 2016 to 30% in 2020.
This rightward trend is mirrored in Nevada. In 2016, Trump secured 29% of the Asian vote, marking an 8-point increase compared to the Republican performance in 2012. By 2020, Trump’s support among Asian American voters in Nevada had grown to 40%, a substantial 11% rise from 2016.
In the 2020 election, Trump lost Nevada by a narrow margin of 2.4%. However, recent polls suggest a notable lead for Trump over Biden by 9% in Nevada, signaling the potential impact of the state’s evolving Asian electorate on future election outcomes.
