Today, more than 250 leaders from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community endorsed Joe Biden for President. The group includes members of the DNC AAPI Caucus, prominent state and local officials, community leaders, organizers, advocates, and the entire AAPI Legislative Caucuses from California, Maryland, and Hawaii. In their endorsement, the group praised Biden’s unique ability to “heal our nation’s soul” and applauded his “compassion, humanity, honor, integrity, and steady leadership.” Read the full endorsement here.

The announcement reflects the broad coalition of support that Biden is building across the AAPI community. Earlier this year, Biden earned the endorsement of the AAPI Victory Fund and ASPIRE. The AAPI community will be decisive in determining the outcome of the 2020 election in key battleground states like Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Virginia, and Arizona.

Now more than ever, we need leadership in the White House that will strive to knit Americans together, rather than tear us apart. Vice President Biden has a proven track record of standing with the AAPI community, and he has demonstrated a strong understanding of the diverse needs and challenges we face,”  said DNC AAPI Caucus Chair Bel Leong-Hong. “Our endorsement today comes at a critical time for the AAPI community. As the entire country grapples with Donald Trump’s catastrophic coronavirus response, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are being hit especially hard. Trump’s utter failure of leadership has stoked xenophobia, while inflaming already existing economic and health disparities in our community. When Joe Biden is President, the AAPI community will have an ally in the White House who will fight to create a fair and humane immigration system, invest in small businesses, collect disaggregated data, and ensure that hate has no safe harbor in our country.”

Full list of endorsers below. 

DNC AAPI Members

● Bel Leong-Hong, National AAPI Caucus Chair

● Keith Umemoto, Member & AAPI Caucus Secretary/Treasurer

● Otto Lee, Member & AAPI Caucus Vice Chair

● Chris Lu, At-Large Member

● Christina Sablan, Northern Marianas Islands National Committeewoman

● Michael A. White, Northern Marianas Islands National Committeeman

● A.J. Durrani, Texas National Committeeman

● Sierra Yamanaka, Arizona National Committeewoman

● Jadine Nielsen, Hawai’i National Committeewoman

AAPI Caucus Leadership

● Sylvia Lee, Arizona Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Devang Shah, Maryland Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Ying Gee, Michigan Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Gracie Galloway, North Carolina Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Dan Santos, Clark County (NV) Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Praveen Meyyan, Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia Chair

● Cora Quisumbing-King, New Hampshire Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Co-Chair

● Sumathi Madhure, New Hampshire Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Co-Chair

● Joshua Ang Price, Arkansas Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Melissa Ramoso, California Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Sam Shim, Ohio Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Francine Ly, Asian American Democrats of Texas Vice President

● Kishan Putta, DC Democratic Party AAPI Caucus Chair

● Angelito Tenorio, Democratic AAPI Caucus of Wisconsin (Ad Hoc) Co-Chair

● Paula Phillips, Democratic AAPI Caucus of Wisconsin (Ad Hoc) Co-Chair

State Elected Officials

● Betty Yee, California State Controller

● Senate President Ron Kouchi, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Regine Biscoe Lee, Guam Legislature

● Sen. Richard Pan, California State Senate

● Sen. Sheik Rahman, Georgia State Senate

● Sen. Clarence Nishihara, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Gil Keith-Agaran, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Laura Thielen, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Lorraine Inouye, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Michelle Kidani, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Roz Baker, Hawai’i Senate

● Sen. Susan C. Lee, Maryland State Senate

● Sen. Clarence Lam, Maryland State Senate

● House Speaker Scott Saiki, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Gene Wu, Texas House of Representatives

● Del. Kriselda Valderrama, Maryland General Assembly

● Del. David Moon, Maryland General Assembly

● Del. Harry Bhandari, Maryland General Assembly

● Del. Kumar Barve, Maryland General Assembly & Chair of House Environment and Transportation Committee

● Del. Lily Qi, Maryland General Assembly

● Del. Mark Chang, Maryland General Assembly

● Del. Wanika Beatrice Fisher, Maryland General Assembly

● Rep. Chris Chyung, Indiana House of Representatives

● Rep. Aaron Ling Johanson, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Dee Morikawa, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Della Bellati, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Gregg Takayama, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. John Mizuno, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Kobayashi Bert, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Kyle Yamashita, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Nadine Nakamura, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Romy Cachola, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Sam Kong, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Scot Matayoshi, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Sharon Har, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Stacelynn Eli, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Sylvia Luke, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Takashi Ohno, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Troy Hashimoto, Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Rep. Bee Nguyen, Georgia General Assembly

● Rep. Sam Park, Georgia General Assembly

● Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Ash Kalra, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember David Chiu, California State Assembly & Chair of the California Asian & Pacific Islander

Legislative Caucus

● Assemblymember Ed Chau, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Evan Low, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Kansen Chu, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Phil Ting, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Rob Bonta, California State Assembly

● Assemblymember Todd Gloria, California State Assembly

Local Elected Officials

● Arlene Chin, Tempe City Councilmember

● Mike Fong, Los Angeles Community College District Trustee

● Ann Kobayashi, Honolulu City Councilmember

● Brandon Elefante, Honolulu City Councilmember

● Joey Manahan, Honolulu City Councilmember

● Justin Kollar, Kauai Prosecuting Attorney

● Kymberly Pine, Honolulu City Councilmember

● Luke Evslin, Kauai County Councilmember

● Riki Hokama, Maui County Councilmember

● Ross Kagawa, Kauai County Councilmember

● Tasha Kama, Maui County Councilmember

● Valerie Pointdexter, Hawai’i County Councilmember

● Jin Lee, Maine Township High School District 207 School Board Member

● Sean Hassan, Austin Community College Board of Trustee

● Babur Lateef, Prince William County (VA) School Board Chairman-At-Large

● Harris Mahedavi, Loudoun County School Board Member

● Ingrid Morroy, Arlington County (VA) Commissioner of Revenue

● Peter Gur, Prince Edward County (VA) Public School Board Member

● Sam Cho, Port of Seattle Commissioner

● Bret Narayan, City of St. Louis, MO Alderman

● Aftab Pureval, Hamilton County (OH) Clerk of Courts

● Peter Urscheler, Phoenixville, PA Mayor

● Arati Singh, Austin Independent School District Board Member

● Ben Ku, Gwinnett County (GA) Commissioner

Former Elected Leaders

● Ben Cayetano, Former Governor of Hawai’i

● George Ariyoshi, Former Governor of Hawai’i

● John Waiheʻe, Former Governor of Hawai’i

● Neil Abercrombie, Former Governor of Hawai’i

● Shan Tsutsui, Former Lt. Governor of Hawai’i

● Doug Chin, Former Lt. Governor of Hawai’i

● Calvin Say, Speaker Emeritus of Hawai’i House of Representatives

● Gordon Quan, Former City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem

● Velma Veloria, Former Washington State Representative

Appointed Officials (Past and Present)

● Ginger Lew, Former White House Advisor

● Karen Narasaki, Former Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

● Francey Lim Youngberg, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Engagement, U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development

● Yvonne Lee, Former Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

● Jeanette Takamura, PhD, Former Assistant Secretary for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services

● Carol Wong, Former Commissioner, Pennsylvania Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

● Jason Tengco, Former Deputy Director for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

● Esther Lee, Former Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Commonwealth of Virginia

● Tuyet Duong, Former Senior Advisor, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

● Mike Ancheta Nisperos Jr., Chair of Vallejo Civil Service Commission

● Shin Inouye, Former Press Secretary and Acting Senior Advisor for Intergovernmental & External Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

National Community Leaders

● Shekar Narasimhan, Chair of the AAPI Victory Fund

● Glen Fukushima, Co-Founder of CAPA21

● Paul Tiao, Co-Founder of Asian American Action Fund

● Fritz Friedman, Co-Founder of Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment

● Maeley Tom, Founding President of the California Joint APIA Legislative Caucus Institute

● Buck Gee, Advisory Board Member at Asia Society – Northern California

● Katie Kalvoda, Founder and President of Asian Americans Rising

● Irene B. Bueno, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Irene Natividad, Co-Chair for Endorsement at Asian American Action Fund

State & Local Political Leaders

● Naomi Okumura Story, PhD, Former Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party AAPI Caucus

● Gerald G. Gubatan, Past President of the Pilipino American Los Angeles Democrats

● Hannah Cho, California Democratic Party Southern California Vice Chair

● Mary Grace Barrios, Past President of the Pilipino American Los Angeles Democrats

● Paul Seo, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee Member

● Mohammad Junaid Akther, President of the American Muslim Democratic Caucus of Florida

● Brickwood Galuteria, Former Chair of the Hawai’i Democratic Party

● Constantino “Coco” Alinsug, Massachusetts Democratic Party State Committee Member

● Dhaval Shah, Chair of the Howard County Democratic Party AAPI Caucus

● Hoan Dang, Former Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party AAPI Leadership Council

● Jonathon Rowland, Chair of the Baltimore City (MD) Democratic Party AAPI Caucus

● Shyam Karki, Chair of the Baltimore County (MD) Democratic Party AAPI Caucus

● Shanika Amarakoon, Portsmouth (NH) Democrats Secretary

● Walter King, Strafford County and Dover (NH) Democratic Committees Executive Committee Member

● Ritesh Shah, Chair of the Monmouth County (NJ) Democrats South Asian Caucus

● Bertran D Palacios, Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands Central Executive Committee Member

● Hebert Soll, Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands Central Executive Committee Member

● Nola Hix, Chair of the Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands

● Shawna Indalecio, Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands Central Executive Committee Member

● Sophia Perez, Democratic Party of the Northern Mariana Islands National Delegate

● Qaisar Imam, Asian American Democrats of Texas Member

● Dewita Soeharjono, Chair Emeritus of Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia

● Suchada Langley, Virginia’s 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee Vice Chair

Policy Leaders & Advocates

● Maria Lourdes Tiglao, Truman National Security Project DC Chapter Director

● Tom K. Wong, Professor and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center

● Pushkar Sharma, Policy Strategist at the New Leaders Council

● Raymond Kuo, Executive Director at the Midwest International Policy Institute

● My Tam Nguyen, Chief of Staff at the National Innovation Service

● Won Palisoul, Truman National Security Project Defense Council

● Julia Kim Chun, Chief of Staff to Sen. Barbara Favola

● Nelson Garcia, President of the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group

● Vannary Kong, Global Connectivity and Trade Sherpa at Youth G7

Community Leaders

● Jennifer Chau, Arizona

● Kostubh “KJ” Bagchi, Co-Founder of Desis for Progress

● Nicholas Lepham, Director of PIVOT – The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization

● Lani Wong, Community Advocate on behalf of Georgia AAPIs

● John Park, Former President of the Korean Community Empowerment Council

● Rebecca Nelson, Leadership Council at the Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership

● Teodora Gaite Schipper, Past President of the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh Inc

● Neha Dewan, National Director for South Asians for Biden

● Brad Baldia,Co-Chair of Pennsylvania AAPIs for Biden

● Anna Perng, Co-Chair of Pennsylvania AAPIs for Biden

● Ling Luo, Founding Chair of Asian American Democratic Club

● Jay Bhandari, President of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin

● Winnie Tang, President of the Florida Asian Women Alliance

● Fe Nieves-Khouw, Past President of Philippine Nurses Association of America – Maryland Chapter

● Lisa Kuan, Co-Founder of Tri-State Asian American Action Fund

● Mingfei Yi, Chair of National Asian American PAC

● Victoria Li, Chair of Central Texas Asian American PAC

● Loren Nadres, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Gautam Dutta, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Mona Mohib, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Willard K. Tom, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Aryani Ong, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Chan Park, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Richard Chen, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Albert Shen, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● JR Smith, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

● Caroline Fan, Board Member at Asian American Action Fund

Candidates for Office

● Sri Kulkarni, Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives

● Leezah Sun, Candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives

● Suzanne Hug, Candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives

● Marvin Lim, Candidate for Georgia General Assembly

● Michelle Au, Candidate for Georgia State Senate

● Janet Yang Rohr, Candidate for Illinois House of Representatives

● Emily Weber, Candidate for Missouri House of Representatives

Business Leaders

● Charlie Woo, CEO, Megatoys

● Martin Wong, Owner, Giraffe-x Creative Imaging

● Dottie Tiejun Li, Founder & CEO, TransPacific Communications

● Bali Kumar, CEO, Lean & Green Michigan

● Arindam Kar, Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

● Han Ko, CEO, USAKO Corp.

● Rick Shang, CEO, Vulpes Corp.

● Shayn Prapaisilp, COO, STJ Group Holdings LLC

● Jun Choi, CEO, Menlo Realty Ventures

● Antoinette Wilson, CEO, Triumph Communications

● Gloria Lung Wakayama, Partner, Harris & Wakayama PLLC

● Deborah Chen, Owner, Shabu House HTX

● Rogene Calvert, Principal, Outreach Strategists

Arts & Media

● Lou Diamond Phillips, Actor and Director

● Mark Dacasco, Actor

● Tia Carrere, Actress and Singer

● Kurt Bardella, Senior Advisor at Lincoln Project

● Stephen Gong, Executive Director at Center for Asian American Media

Activist & Advocates

● Brooke Marissa Lee Harris, Arizona

● Lori Taniguchi, Arizona

● Pinny Sheoran, Arizona

● Jon Lea Fimbres, Arizona

● Laetitia Hua, Arizona

● Marvin Dean McCollum, Arizona

● Janice K Eng, Arizona

● Catherine Ripley, Arizona

● Priyanka Sundareshan, Arizona

● Reksmey Mouk, California

● Carmen Chang, California

● Joselito Laudencia, California

● Loreto Quevedo Dimaandal, California

● Erin Pangilinan, California

● Erika L. Moritsugu, District of Columbia

● Aaron Sayama, District of Columbia

● Caroline Chang, District of Columbia

● Hansen Mak, District of Columbia

● Patricio N. Abinales, Hawai’i

● Katrina Chan, Maryland

● Samantha Cheng, Maryland

● Tonia Bui, Maryland

● Mark Wong, Maryland

● Saman Qadeer Ahmad, Maryland

● Shruti Bhatnagar, Maryland

● Anis Ahmed, Maryland

● Deeba Jafri, Maryland

● Garima Bhatt Handley, Maryland

● Ron Sakai, Missouri

● Hyun Lee, North Carolina

● Jannie K. Lau, North Carolina

● Alberto Manalo, New Hampshire

● John F Furey, Northern Marianas Islands

● Frances A. Castro, Northern Marianas Islands

● Maria Tenorio Camacho, Northern Marianas Islands

● Rita A. Sablan, Northern Marianas Islands

● Ditas Valenzuela, Northern Marianas Islands

● Peni Sua, Nevada

● Cynthia Ameli, Nevada

● Rev. Phil Tom, New York

● Youping Xiao, Pennsylvania

● Josephine Tarin, Texas

● Benjamin Chou, Texas

● Jennifer Oh, Virginia

● Francis Stevens, Virginia

● Ibrahim Moiz, Virginia

● Johna Ohtagaki, Virginia

● Mason Ji, Washington

● Sandy Dang, Washington