2026 AAPI Voter Survey Shows Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters Poised to Shape Midterm Elections: Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters are emerging as an increasingly influential force ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, with a new national survey showing high voter engagement, strong concerns over the cost of living and inflation, and a substantial current preference for Democratic congressional candidates.
The 2026 AAPI Voter Survey, released by AAPI Data and APIAVote, estimates that there are 16 million eligible AAPI voters in 2026, including approximately 1.6 million people who have become newly eligible voters since 2022.
The survey comes as AAPI voters are positioned to play a potentially decisive role in closely contested congressional races. In the 2024 election, AAPIs represented significant portions of the eligible electorate in several battleground states, including 12% in Nevada, 4.4% in Arizona, 4.2% in Georgia, 3.3% in Pennsylvania, and 3.0% each in Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
90% Say They Plan to Vote
The survey finds exceptionally high reported voting intentions among AAPI registered voters.
Ninety percent say they plan to vote in the 2026 midterm elections, compared with 84% in 2022 and 86% in 2018.
The figure varies somewhat between major population groups, with 91% of Asian American voters and 87% of Pacific Islander voters saying they plan to vote.
Among those intending to vote, 71% say they are absolutely certain they will cast a ballot, while another 23% say they are fairly certain.
Voting certainty varies significantly among Asian American ethnic groups. Japanese Americans report the highest certainty at 80%, followed by Filipino Americans at 78%, while certainty is lowest among Korean and Vietnamese voters at 60%.
Voters remain divided over how they prefer to cast their ballots. Forty-five percent prefer voting in person, 34% prefer voting by mail and 15% prefer ballot drop-off. Taken together, mail and drop-off voting are preferred by 49%, virtually unchanged from the 50% recorded in 2022.
Democrats Hold a Significant Lead
The survey shows Democratic candidates currently holding a substantial advantage among AAPI voters in congressional elections.
For U.S. Senate races, 60% of AAPI voters prefer the Democratic candidate compared with 24% who prefer the Republican candidate.
For U.S. House races, the Democratic advantage is even larger, with 64% supporting Democratic candidates compared with 22% supporting Republicans.
The Democratic advantage extends across most Asian American ethnic groups, although the size of the gap differs considerably.
In Senate races, Democratic support ranges from 42% among Filipino voters to 66% among Asian Indian voters. Filipino voters are the only ethnic group in which Republican preference currently exceeds Democratic preference, with 49% favoring the Republican Senate candidate compared with 42% for the Democratic candidate.
Independent voters could also prove important. Among independents, 54% prefer the Democratic Senate candidate compared with 18% for the Republican candidate. In House races, 51% of independent AAPI voters prefer the Democratic candidate compared with 20% who prefer the Republican candidate.
Cost of Living Dominates Voter Concerns
Economic concerns are at the center of the AAPI electorate’s political priorities.
Cost of living and inflation rank as the top issue for Asian American voters, with 90% saying the issue is very or extremely important when deciding how to vote. This includes 59% who describe it as extremely important.
Pacific Islander voters also place particularly strong emphasis on the issue, with 89% saying cost of living and inflation are very or extremely important.
The issue is also the area where Democratic candidates currently enjoy the greatest advantage in voter trust. Among AAPI voters, 44% trust Democrats to do a better job handling cost of living and inflation, compared with 18% who trust Republicans.
Other major policy priorities include:
- Health care: 82%
- Jobs and unemployment: 80%
- Social Security and Medicare: 80%
- Education: 79%
- Crime and public safety: 78%
- War and foreign policy: 78%
- Racism, racial discrimination and hate crimes: 73%
- Immigration: 68%
- Abortion and reproductive rights: 61%
The findings indicate that AAPI voters are focused not only on economic issues but also on health care, employment, retirement security, education, public safety, foreign policy and immigration.
Millions of AAPI Voters Remain Politically Unreached
Despite their growing electoral importance, the survey indicates that large numbers of AAPI voters are not being contacted by political parties.
Forty-two percent report receiving no contact from the Democratic Party, while an even larger 58% report receiving no contact from the Republican Party.
Community organizations appear to have a significant opportunity to engage this electorate. Approximately 58% of AAPI adults report contact from community organizations, roughly the same share reporting contact from the Democratic Party.
The findings suggest that traditional political campaign outreach has not fully reached the growing AAPI electorate, potentially creating opportunities for candidates, campaigns and community organizations to expand voter engagement before November.
Family and Friends Among Most Trusted Messengers
The survey also examines who AAPI voters trust when receiving information.
Family and friends are the most trusted messengers, at 62%, followed closely by academic experts at 60%.
Community journalists are trusted by 50%, while AAPI community-serving organizations are trusted by 47%.
Pacific Islander adults show particularly high confidence in AAPI community-serving organizations, with 59% expressing trust, compared with 45% among Asian American adults.
The findings highlight the importance of community-based communication and trusted messengers in reaching AAPI voters, particularly those who may not regularly engage with political campaigns.
Television and YouTube Lead as News Sources
Television remains the most commonly used news source among AAPI adults, with 47% reporting television use, followed closely by YouTube at 43%.
Newspapers and news websites and Facebook each reach 35% of respondents.
Only 5% say they do not regularly use any news source.
The survey also reveals differences between Asian American and Pacific Islander media habits.
Pacific Islander adults are more likely than Asian Americans to use Facebook, 44% versus 34%; radio, 35% versus 25%; and TikTok, 30% versus 16%.
Asian Americans, meanwhile, are more likely to rely on newspapers and news websites, 37% compared with 23% among Pacific Islanders.
English Remains Dominant, but Language Differences Persist
Most AAPI voters consume news primarily in English.
Seventy-eight percent consume news mainly in English, while 16% consume news in both English and another language, and 6% primarily consume news in another language.
Language use differs considerably among foreign-born respondents. Only 67% of foreign-born respondents rely mainly on English, while 23% consume news in both English and another language.
The findings underscore the importance of multilingual outreach for campaigns and organizations seeking to engage immigrant and first-generation communities.
A Growing Electoral Force
The survey’s findings come against the backdrop of the rapid growth of the AAPI electorate.
With 16 million eligible AAPI voters in 2026, the community’s electoral influence extends well beyond states traditionally associated with large Asian American populations. AAPI voters represent meaningful shares of the electorate in competitive congressional districts and could become particularly consequential in elections decided by narrow margins.
The combination of high voting intentions, growing voter numbers and significant representation in battleground states makes AAPI voters a potentially important constituency in determining control of Congress.
At the same time, the survey shows that political preferences should not be treated as uniform across the diverse AAPI population. Differences by ethnicity, party affiliation, geography, media use and trusted messengers demonstrate the complexity of the electorate.
Survey Methodology
The 2026 Asian American Voter Survey (AAVS) was designed as a national survey of registered AAPI voters.
Respondents were drawn from a national voter file, using enhanced data to identify likely Asian American voters and their likely ethnicity.
The study was designed to include approximately 2,066 AAPI voters, comprising 1,896 Asian Americans and 170 Pacific Islanders. Sampling quotas were established by ethnicity to support disaggregated analysis.
Interviews were conducted between June 3 and July 27, 2026, using a mixed-mode methodology combining telephone interviews, MMS-to-web recruitment and online recruitment.
The survey methodology was designed to produce population-representative results, including evaluation of nonresponse bias and weighting based on known voter characteristics.
The questionnaire and research design were developed collaboratively by APIAVote and AAPI Data, with pre-testing conducted before the survey was fielded. The average interview lasted approximately 15 minutes.
The Asian American Voter Survey series began in 2014 and is conducted during election years to capture the perspectives, priorities and political preferences of AAPI voters.
The 2026 AAPI Voter Survey provides a detailed snapshot of an electorate that is not only growing rapidly but could play a significant role in determining the outcome of competitive races across the United States in the 2026 midterm elections.
