Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli face off in a gubernatorial debate as they vie to become New Jersey’s next governor. (Heather Khalifa/The Associated Press )
New Jersey is a longtime Democrat stronghold, previously voting for a Republican presidential candidate during former President George H.W. Bush's 1988 election. Trump, however, made inroads with New Jersey voters in the 2024 election, sparking renewed enthusiasm among Republicans to flip the state red.
New Jersey voted to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the 2024 race, but post-election data showed Trump and the GOP flipped five counties red. All in, Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points to six in 2024.
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill was elected the party's nominee for governor and will face off against Republican Jack Ciattarelli at the polls Nov. 4.
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New Jersey has a massive Asian American population at just more than one million people in a state of roughly 9.5 million total residents. The 2024 voting data shows there were 584,236 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the state.
Conrad, who is also the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, told Fox Digital that the lack of outreach to the voting bloc could hurt the Democrat Party's efforts to retain the governorship. She said she reminds party members that "there are a million Asian Americans in New Jersey" and that "we as Democrats, have not invested as much as we could have into the community at our own peril."
Indian American signs For Donald Trump rally In Edison, New Jersey, Hindu Indian-American rally for "Humanity United Against Terror." (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"When we're talking the importance of really building that coalition, we have to continue to say and include Asian Americans in that as well," she said. "And I think sometimes we get left off, as you know, not even considered or thought about or remembered as a really important community to engage with."
Sherrill campaign spokesperson Sam Chan told Fox News Digital when asked about their AAPI outreach that "throughout the campaign, Mikie has partnered directly with Asian communities, and shared her vision to lower costs, bolster support for small businesses, and ensure people have the opportunity to achieve the American dream here in New Jersey."
"As governor, Mikie will work to ensure Trenton serves everyone," Chan continued. "Mikie will work to make it easier to start and grow a small business and lower costs, ensure our schools are fully funded, and stand up for our constitutional rights and uphold the law. Mikie’s Save You Time and Money Agenda will help business owners launch and expand their ventures, while her State of Emergency on Utility Costs will end the rate hikes and reduce electric bills."
Chan also took a shot at Trump in the remarks, saying Ciattarelli "cheers along Trump as he attacks our communities, rips away billions from our schools and transit system, and jacks up prices with his unaffordable tariffs, Mikie is running to fight for all New Jerseyans."
Fox News Digital also spoke with Parul Khemka, a New Jersey Democrat running for re-election on the Livingston Board of Education, who said the Sherrill campaign has increasingly attended cultural events, including a Diwali celebration.
"Even within Bergen County, there's a big east Asian population, so she's tapped into that as well. It's just, New Jersey is a little bit funky. You'd think that it's one party, one thing … But different counties have their own different attributes, so you have to figure it out as you go along."
Sherrill, she added, was involved in cultural events in her congressional district, which includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties in North Jersey, and that her office has historically been approachable.
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Khemka said that top priorities for the AAPI community commonly include education, immigration and visas, and the economy and affordability, while also noting the massive voting bloc is nuanced and diverse. She said AAPI voters have always leaned more to the left, from her view, but that voters moved more to the right as Trump campaigned on getting the economy back on track following spiraling inflation.
President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally in Wildwood, N.J., Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Matt Rourke/The Associated Press)
Democrats, Kehmka said, are positioned to better appeal to AAPI voters as they understand the nuances of the voters' political concerns as opposed to broad issues.
"The Democratic Party obviously does a little bit better than the Republican Party to understand these nuanced issues, and they do not paint everybody in the same brush," she said, adding that the AAPI community in New Jersey could make or break Democrats retaining the governor's mansion.
The Sherrill campaign, for example, has deployed multilingual phone banking and canvassing programs in towns with high levels of Asian voters, with Sherrill, herself, also meeting with voters in their communities.
Conrad said that the Sherrill campaign has built more inroads with AAPI voters in recent months, pointing to outreach events over the weekend that included DNC chair Ken Martin also traveling to the Garden State to rally support for the ticket.
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"We did an AAPI oriented canvas. And then … DNC Chair Ken Martin hosted an AAPI roundtable to meet with AAPI leaders and to show that engagement. I have heard, even just in a month's time, I had heard a big change from the community about feeling like they were, you know, being engaged more directly by the Sherrill campaign, and we're feeling better about it," Conrad said.
"I do think that that work is happening," she added, praising efforts by the DNC's AAPI caucus, specifically South Asians for America, rallying Democrat support ahead of New Jersey's and Virginia's high-stakes elections.
The New Jersey gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 4.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ciattarelli's campaign Thursday for comment on AAPI outreach and has yet to receive a reply.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-lagging-behind-gop-asian-american-outreach-could-make-break-blue-state-election-dnc-leader-warns