Background

Asian American and Pacific Islander voters are poised to play an increasingly consequential role in the 2026 midterm elections. AAPIs are the nation’s fastest-growing voter bloc, and recent elections have demonstrated their potential to shape outcomes in highly competitive races across the country.

There are 16 million eligible AAPI voters in 2026, including 1.6 million newly eligible voters since 2022.

API voters also represented consequential shares of the electorate in competitive congressional districts across states including Arizona, California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

That influence is especially important in elections decided by narrow margins. In 2024, AAPIs made up significant shares of the eligible electorate in key battleground states, including 12% in Nevada, 4.4% in Arizona, 4.2% in Georgia, 3.3% in Pennsylvania, and 3.0% in Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Key Findings

• 90% of AAPI registered voters say they plan to vote in the 2026 midterm elections, up from 84% in 2022 and 86% in 2018. Seventy-one percent say they are absolutely certain they will vote.

• Cost of living and inflation are the dominant concerns, with 90% of Asian Americans and 89% of Pacific Islanders saying it is very or extremely important in deciding how they vote.

• Democratic candidates currently lead in congressional vote choice, and Democrats hold an advantage on voters’ top issue: 63% select the Democratic candidate for U.S. House compared with 24% Republican. On voters’ top issue, cost of living and inflation, 44% trust Democrats to do a better job compared with 18% who trust Republicans.

• Many AAPI voters remain unreached: 42% report no contact from the Democratic Party and 58% no contact from the Republican Party. Community organizations reach approximately as many AAPI adults as the Democratic Party, with 58% reporting some contact from each.

• Family and friends (62%) and academic experts (60%) are the most trusted messengers, followed by community journalists (50%) and AAPI community-serving organizations (47%). PI adults report particularly high trust in AAPI community-serving organizations (59% vs. 45% of Asian Americans).

To download the full report: https://aapidata.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-AAPI-Voter-Survey-Slide-Deck-FINAL.pdf

To read the entire article: https://aapidata.com/surveys/2026-aapi-voter-survey