A major new survey of Asian American voters shows good news for Barack Obama supporters: Obama leads by double digits among Asian Americans, with 41% of Asian American likely voters favoring Obama to 24% for McCain. But the survey also shows that we have a lot of work to do before Election Day, as more than a third of Asian American voters (35%) remain undecided.

The National Asian American Survey, conducted by researchers from Rutgers, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and USC between mid-August and the end of September, is the first–and perhaps only–major poll of Asian Americans for the 2008 elections. As I’ve mentioned before, no major pollster tracks Asian Americans, making this survey a treasure trove of information that can help us better target our efforts to organize the Asian American community over the next month. Read the rest of this entry »

California DNC member Kamil Hasan released the following statement
today endorsing Barack Obama for President:

“I am endorsing Senator Obama as Democratic Party’s
nominee not only because he has clearly won more pledged delegates, but I
sincerely believe that he can provide the necessary leadership in taking
this country in a new direction at this critical juncture in our
history. Fortunately, we have had two excellent candidates. I have great
admiration for Senator Clinton and the way she has run a spirited, high energy,
issues based campaign. I am looking forward to continue to energize the
Indo-American and the South-Asian communities in ensuring that Senator Obama becomes
the next President of the United
  States. His election as the President
of the United States will
not only help unite a very divided nation, but elevate the image of the United States
in the world to a level not seen since John Kennedy was the President.”

We’ve already noted the several dozen new super delegates that announced today, but I wanted to highlight particularly the just-announced endorsement of Bel Leong-Hong of Maryland, Chair of the DNC’s AAPI Caucus.

As a champion for AAPI issues, Bel released the following statement:

I’m endorsing Barack Obama today because I believe he is
the strongest candidate for the Asian-American and Pacific Islander
community and he understands that it’s time for AAPI
issues—immigration, education, and small business policy, for
example—to be discussed on the national stage. And as someone who has
lived in AAPI and international communities, I know he shares our
unwavering belief in America as a land of prosperity and opportunity
for all.

Obama has shown a remarkable ability to bring people
together, and I know that Democrats will unite behind him to take on
John McCain and stand up for a new direction for this country.

I
look forward to working with Senator Obama and his campaign to actively
engage our Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the general
election.   Our community is actively participating in this exciting
election and will be a critical, swing-vote constituency contributing
to a historic democratic victory in November.

Asian Americans are making a difference this election cycle, and we will continue to make our voices heard.  Thanks, Bel!

The slow but steady trickle of super delegates announcing for Obama over the last several weeks has finally, as predicted, become a flood.  In anticipation of tonight’s final primaries in Montana and South Dakota and recognizing that Obama is just a few delegates away from clinching the nomination, numerous super delegates have announced for Obama today.  Several more have already announced their intention to declare tomorrow and in the days to come, and many others will probably do so as well.

BoBo2020 has a great diary here on the super delegate announcements today that is being regularly updated.  Some notable names include former President Jimmy Carter, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the third ranking Democrat in the House, and former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham.

In related news, the rumors have been flying back and forth as to what exactly Sen. Clinton will announce tonight in NY.  Some say she is going to recognize Obama as the nominee without formally suspending her campaign, while others say she is going to announce her intention to take this contest to the convention.  Let us hope for the sake of party unity and the business of defeating Sen. McCain in November that it’s along the lines of the former rather than the latter.

Since Tuesday’s results further reinforced Sen. Obama’s near insurmountable lead in the Democratic contest, superdelegates all over the country have been steadily announcing their support for Obama.  In at least one case, Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, the superdelegate switched his support from Clinton to Obama.  By at least some calculations (notably ABC News), Sen. Obama now leads Sen. Clinton in superdelegates.

Of particular interest and excitement to us here at Asian Americans for Obama is news that Congresswoman Mazie Hirono of Hawaii (one of the first two Buddhists elected to the US Congress, along with Hank Gilbert of Georgia, in 2006) has endorsed Sen. Obama in an announcement today from Washington:

"Today I announce my endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President
of the United States. I do so after watching these historic campaigns
unfold across our country, where hundreds of thousands of people
participated as never before. It is clear that Americans want our
country back on a course of hope and opportunity.

I make my
announcement with deep respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton. She
is an extraordinary woman. However, it is time to unite the party
behind Senator Obama and to use our energy and resources to defeat
Senator John McCain. Barack Obama can unite our Party and our country
and bring about the positive changes Americans want.

Of
course, all of us are especially proud of Senator Obama’s deep roots
here in our state, and overwhelmingly embraced his candidacy in our
recent caucus. His love for Hawaii and understanding of its diversity
have given him a foundation for understanding the diversity of our
country.

I am proud to endorse Senator Obama and I look forward to a winning campaign."

Congresswoman Hirono joins fellow Hawaii Congressman and superdelegate Neil Abercrombie in supporting Sen. Obama.  You can send a word of appreciation and thanks to Congresswoman Hirono here.  You can help with her re-election by visiting her campaign website and signing up to volunteer or give money.

For Sen. Obama’s thank you, go below the fold.

Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who stayed up late enough last night to see the final results, you’ve already known the great news.  With Sen. Obama’s decisive victory in North Carolina and his amazing comeback to almost beat Sen. Clinton in Indiana, the emerging consensus is that the Democratic nomination contest is essentially over.

The final results were:

Indiana

North Carolina

99 percent reporting

          %    Dels

Obama    56     45

Clinton  42     37

Vote margin: 232,762

More analysis below the fold.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are just a few more hours before the polls close in Indiana and North Carolina.  If you’re in one of those two states and have not voted yet - get out there before the polls close.  Polls close at 6:00 PM in Indiana and 7:30 PM in North Carolina (if you’re in line by the closing time, you have the right to vote).  As the Supreme Court’s decision recently reminded us, Indiana has a stringent voter ID law, so remember to bring valid identification.  The Obama campaign has more info here on what to bring to the polls in Indiana.  (And here for North Carolina.)

If you’re not in those two states or have already voted, we need your help to get out the vote for Barack!  The Indiana offices are calling all volunteers to get to their local office and help make phone calls and turn out our voters.

We’re also less than 35,000 calls away from 1,000,000 supporter calls to voters.  Visit the online phone banking page to help meet this historic goal.

With the last village in, Sen. Obama has officially won Guam’s party caucus (which operates more like a primary in many ways) with 2,264 votes to Clinton’s 2,257.  The newly elected party chair and vice chair team of Pilar Lujan and Jaime Paulino will also be superdelegates for Obama.

Guam has 8 pledged delegates with half a vote each.  I don’t have the official breakdown yet, but Obama and Clinton will likely split the pledged delegates with Obama picking up two overall with the superdelegates from Guam included.

Thanks so much to all the volunteers from all over who took time to help call Guam, and special thanks to Ria Baldevia who helped set up the easy to use calling tool (and helped open the first ever presidential campaign office in Guam).

According to supporter Grande Lum, "The campaign ran ads and Barack did a radio interview in Guam yesterday
and emphasized that he will address the special concerns of the
Chamorro people."  To hear his interview, entitled ‘Sen. Obama Supports Guam’s Quest for Self-Determination,’ visit this link.

With 115 pledged delegates, North Carolina is the biggest state remaining on the Democratic primary calendar.  A strong victory there on Tuesday, May 6, would virtually guarantee Sen. Obama a pledged delegate lead at the end of the primary season, not to mention erase any gains made by Sen. Clinton in Pennsylvania.

Polling has consistently shown Sen. Obama in the lead, but with aggressive campaigning in the final days, the gap is closing and Sen. Clinton will continue to do everything she can to remain in this race.  As in so many other states, this one is going to come down to the organization and ground game, and our folks need your help!  Sign up today to volunteer in North Carolina!

Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/cometonc to provide your information to the campaign, and a local organizer in NC will get in touch with you on details, including transportation and housing.

If you can’t make it to North Carolina in person, your help is still needed to phone bank from home.  The North Carolina team has set up a great online tool to let you call from home at http://my.barackobama.com/ncvols. By making just 50 calls (takes about 2 hours), we can give the team on the ground a huge boost before election day on May 6.  Let’s get out there and win this one for Obama, and then on to victory in November!

Today, April 29, is the last day to register to vote (or change your party affiliation to Democrat) in order to be eligible to participate in the Oregon Democratic primary on May 20.

Anyone who is a resident of Oregon and will be 18 years old on or before May 20, 2008, can register for the primary.  Remember, Oregon is a completely vote by mail system, so you must re-register if your permanent or mailing address has changed since you last registered.  You should also re-register if you have not voted for the last five years or more.  Oregon is a CLOSED primary, meaning that only people registered as Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary, so voters should also check to make sure they have the correct party registration by today.

For more information, visit the Oregon Secretary of State’s website or your local Oregon for Obama field office.

If you’re already registered, you can help make sure others are registered by the deadline today by helping to call Oregon residents using the campaign’s online Oregon phone banking tool.