The Missing Group

There’s always a “missing” or silent group in US politics: Asian Americans. If you look at most polls—especially during election season—you usually see breakdowns for White, Black, and Latino/Hispanic voters, and then everything else gets lumped into “Other.” Asian Americans are almost always left out as their own category.

It’s not because Asian Americans don’t exist in meaningful numbers. They are close to 5% of the US population. But they still end up treated like an invisible group, and there are a few reasons for that.

First, many Asian Americans live in coastal areas—places like New York City, California, and the LA region. These are already Democratic strongholds, so Asian Americans are often not viewed as a key “swing” group that can flip states. From the perspective of political strategists, that makes them less “useful” to focus on.

Second, Asian American voting patterns are not as uniform as people assume. When you look at polling that does include Asian voters, the results are often mixed and varied. That makes it harder for campaigns to reduce them into a simple narrative or predictable voting bloc.

Third, Asian Americans often participate less in US politics overall, especially in some communities. That can mean lower turnout, less organized political infrastructure, and fewer high-profile efforts aimed at shaping national narratives. As a result, they get ignored more easily.

This is similar to what happens with Native Americans. In many polls, you’ll see White, Black, Latino, and then “Other”—and that “Other” hides groups like Asians and Native Americans, even though their opinions and voting behavior still matter.

Some people argue this could change if the Asian American population grows. But population growth in many Asian countries—China, Japan, Korea—is slowing down, and immigration patterns may not drive rapid growth either. So the number may increase, but probably not fast enough to force a major shift in how political research and election strategy are done.

So for a long time, we may keep seeing the same simplified categories in polling: White, Black, and Latino—because those are the groups researchers and election strategists treat as the main drivers of electoral outcomes. Asian Americans remain visible in everyday life, but politically, they are often treated like background noise: everyone knows they’re there, but too many people don’t bother to pay attention.