WASHINGTON—In August 2024, our nation witnessed the first Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AA & NH/PI) to secure a major-party nomination for President of the United States when Vice President Kamala Harris was elected as the party’s candidate at the Democratic Convention.
Exceptionally well qualified, Harris served as Attorney General of California, United States Senator, and Vice President. As the child of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, her story and election as the first Asian and Black woman Vice President inspired our nation’s 26 million AA & NH/PI community—the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the country.
Likewise, in February 2023, Governor Nikki Haley, a daughter of Sikh parents, announced her campaign to become the Republican nominee for President. Similarly credentialled, Governor Haley served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, Governor of South Carolina, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations. She was the first woman to have won a state or territorial Republican presidential primary contest.
“We are disappointed that Vice President Harris and Governor Haley were unsuccessful in securing the Presidency. AA & NH/PI women have made great strides on our national political stage, now with four women who have run for President, starting with Patsy Mink in 1972,” said Madalene Mielke, President and CEO of APAICS. “Our AA & NH/PI women presidential candidates have the experience to serve in our nation’s highest office, and more than half of the AA & NH/PI members of Congress are women. We must continue to build the pipeline in all levels of government to ensure that AA & NH/PI women running for the Presidency is not a once-in-a-generation moment. APAICS’ Women’s Collective program will be critical in the growth and success of AA & NH/PI women seeking elected office.”
Founded in 1994 by the late Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and former Delegate Robert Underwood, alongside the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, APAICS is the leading organization that promotes AA & NH/PI participation and representation at all levels of the political process. Through the APAICS Women’s Collective, the organization has emphasized identifying, developing, and training more AA & NH/PI women across the political spectrum to serve in elected office.
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The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) is a national, non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander participation and representation at all levels of the political process from community service to elected office.
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