Vice President Kamala Harris is losing support among Asian Americans, a historically Democratic bloc, with many voters citing the weak economy under the Biden-Harris administration, Politico reported.
"The economy … is always kind of the number one concern for a lot of the Asian American population. And they’re not happy with what’s happened in the last four years. They want change," said Rep. Soo Hong, a Republican Georgia state legislator. "And so I think that’s kind of why we’re seeing a little bit more of a shift of the Asian American community voting more on the conservative side than on the Democrat side."
The shift in support could spell trouble for Harris in states like Georgia, where there is a large Korean-American population, Politico reported. Harris is trailing former president Donald Trump in the Peach State by less than a percentage point. In 2020, President Joe Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes.
Many Asian residents who spoke with Politico see Harris as an extension of Biden and don’t want four more years of a Biden economy.
"The price of ingredients has just risen so much—almost 80 percent for certain items," said Lee Sung Yong, who owns Korean BBQ and noodle restaurants in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
"I was disappointed with the economy under Biden," he continued. "I don’t know Harris’s economic policies, but won’t the same pattern of rising prices and higher taxes repeat under her since she was the vice president?"
Sung Yong added that he’ll be voting for Trump in November for one main reason: "The yearly costs of my operation have been so different under the two administrations."
Small business owners blamed the Biden-Harris administration for soaring inflation, saying high prices have pushed customers out of their stores.
"I think it is a bad economy right now. For us, we have 50 percent fewer customers," says Shin Kyung Ok, who owns a hair salon in Georgia.
"Our sales have dropped, and I’ve heard that from other places too," May Kim, an employee in a local cosmetics store, said, adding that Biden’s economy is at fault for the slow business. "Those around me who aren’t wealthy, ordinary people say that times have gotten tough."
The 2024 Asian American Voter Survey found that 90 percent of respondents said the state of the economy is extremely or very important to them. Trump has gained 8 percentage points in support among Asian Americans from April to September, according to a University of Chicago poll.
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