Asian American Survey - Nevada Findings from a Survey of 700 Asian American Voters nationwide plus 100 each in FL, IL, NV, and VA Celinda Lake, David Mermin, and Shilpa Grover Lake Research Partners Washington, DC | Berkeley, CA | New York, NY LakeResearch.com 202.776.9066

Methodology Lake Research Partners designed and conducted this telephone survey of 713 registered Asian American and Pacific Islander voters nationwide, with oversamples of 100 voters in Florida, Illinois, Nevada, and Virginia. Interviews were conducted April 5-15, 2012. Sampling error is +/- 3.7%. For Nevada, we conducted 112 interviews, with a margin of error of +/-9.3%. Telephone numbers for the survey were drawn randomly from voter files. The sample was stratified geographically by region based on the proportion of voters in each region. The data were weighted by gender, age, region, and race/ethnicity. 2

Asian American voters in Nevada tend to be more critical of Obama and more supportive of Romney than Asian Americans nationwide. Asian American voters in Nevada are more likely to be US-born than Asian Americans elsewhere; of those that immigrated here, most came as children. They are more optimistic than Asian Americans overall about the direction of the country for people like them. 56% of Asian Americans in Nevada say we are heading in the right direction while 48% say we are heading in the right direction nationwide. Asian American voters in Nevada are more likely to rate Obama’s performance as poor (20%) than Asian Americans nationwide (12%). They also have slightly less slightly favorable views of Obama (68% of Asian Americans in Nevada view him favorably vs. 73% nationally) and the Democratic Party (58% vs. 65% nationally). Asian American voters in the state are also more Republican; 24% identify with the Republican Party, while only 16% of Asian Americans nationwide identify with the Republican Party. Asian Americans in Nevada are also more likely to support Romney, narrowing the gap between Obama and Romney. 29% say they will support Romney in November, while 54% support Obama; nationwide, Obama’s lead is +46 points, while in Nevada it’s +25. And while 52% of Asian Americans nationwide support a Democratic congressional candidate, only 45% in Nevada say the same—still a plurality, but the margin between the Democratic candidate and Republican candidate is closer (+22). In Nevada, a quarter of Asian American voters consume a mix of English and in-language news. 3

Who Asian American Voters Are

Demographics of registered Asian American voters in Nevada Language Spoken At Home: Only English – 31% Mandarin – 13% Korean – 15% Hindi – 3% Vietnamese – 8% Cantonese – 8% Tagalog – 11% Hmong – 0% Other – 12% Race: Chinese – 23% Indian – 4% Filipino – 21% Korean – 17% Japanese – 11% Other – 8% Gender: Male – 49% Female – 51% Party Identification: Democrat – 52% Republican – 24% Independent/Don’t know/ Refused – 20% Voting Pattern: Democratic – 56% Republican – 22% Independent/Don’t know/ Refused – 25% Employment Status: Employed full time – 63% Employed part time – 7% Unemployed – 6% Retired – 17% Homemaker – 5% Marital Status: Married – 63% Single – 23% Unmarried with partner – 2% Separated/divorced – 6% Widowed – 4% Kids under 18: Yes – 32% No – 68% Age: Under 30 – 17% 30-39 – 18% 40-49 – 19% 50-64 – 26% 65 and over – 17% Education: HS or less – 25% Some college – 24% College graduate – 43% Post-graduate – 6% 5

Asian Americans in Nevada are slightly less likely to say they are almost certain to vote, and more likely to say they will probably vote than Asian Americans in other states. 6 Although it is some time from now, what are the chances of you voting in the election for President, Congress, and other offices this November – are you almost CERTAIN to vote, will you PROBABLY vote, are the chances about 50-50, are you probably NOT going to vote, or are you DEFINITELY not going to vote?

More Asian American voters in Nevada were born in the U. S More Asian American voters in Nevada were born in the U.S. than the Asian American voters in other states. Most who immigrated did so when they were children. 7 Were you born in the United States or were you born in another country? If born in another country: How old were you when you moved to the United States?

Of those who were born in the U.S., two-thirds have immigrant parents. *Asked among those who were born in the United States 8 Was either your mother or your father born in a country other than the United States?

A large proportion of Asian Americans in Nevada report turning to television as their main news source. 9 Thinking about news, which of the following sources would you say you use to get news about politics in the United States?

A full quarter of Asian Americans in Nevada consume at least some of their news in a non-English language. 10 And is the news you watch or read mostly in English, mostly in another language, or an equal mix of both?

How Asian Americans Feel About the United States

Asian Americans in Nevada have a more positive assessment of how things are going for people like them than how things are going in the country overall. How things are going in the country* How things are going in the country for people like you* -7 +23 *Asked of half the sample Thinking about how things are going in the country, do you feel things in this country are going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track? Thinking about how things are going in the country for people like you, do you feel things in this country are going in the right direction, or do you feel things have gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track? 12

Asian Americans in Nevada are largely lukewarm or negative about the economy. 13 How would you rate how the U.S. economy is doing right now—would you say it is excellent, good, just fair, or poor?

Asian Americans in Nevada are more likely to rate President Obama’s performance as poor than Asian Americans nationwide. 14 How would you rate the job being done by Barack Obama as President? Is he doing an excellent, good, just fair, or poor job?

Asian Americans and their Political Attitudes

Asian Americans in Nevada have a much more favorable view of Obama than Romney, and of the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, though the margin is closer on the parties than the candidates. Notably, one-quarter of Nevada Asian Americans have no opinion of Romney. Net NO/NH Unfavorable Favorable +42 6 -21 26 +33 17 -31 19 Now I’d like to ask you about some people and organizations who have been mentioned in the news recently. For each, please tell me whether you have a VERY favorable, SOMEWHAT favorable, somewhat UNFAVORABLE, or VERY unfavorable impression. If you haven’t heard of them [6] , or if you don’t know enough about them to have an impression [5], just say so, and we will move on. 16

Although more than half of Asian Americans in Nevada are supporting Obama in November, the gap between Obama and Romney is much narrower here than nationwide among Asian Americans. 16% are undecided. +25 *Asked of 105 respondents. 7 received a similar question on Obama vs. Santorum before he dropped out. 17 Assuming Mitt Romney is the nominee for the Republican party, if the election for President was held today and the candidates were: President Barack Obama, Democrat and Former Governor Mitt Romney, Republican, for whom would you vote, or are you undecided?

Nearly two-thirds of Asian Americans in Nevada report voting for Obama in 2008. 18 Thinking about past elections, did you get a chance to vote in the 2008 presidential election? If so, did you vote for Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain?

The gap is much narrower between the generic Democratic candidate and Republican candidate on the congressional ballot than in other states. The Democratic candidate has a plurality of support, and one third of voters are undecided. +22 19 And if the election for U.S. Congress were held today, would you vote for: the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate in your district, or are you undecided?

Asian Americans in Nevada give the Democratic party the highest ratings on standing up for the middle class, education, and health care. No Diff/ DK Republican Party Democratic Party 24 29 26 37 28 27 Now I’d like to ask you about some issues that might be important in the election. For each, please tell me whether you think the Democratic Party or the Republican Party is doing a better job with this issue, or if there is no difference. Do you feel the Democratic Party or the Republican Party is doing a better job with this issue? Is that a MUCH better job or SOMEWHAT? 20

Asian Americans in Nevada are more split on issues like national security, the budget deficit, and foreign policy, and significant percentages see no difference between the parties. No Diff/ DK Republican Party Democratic Party 37 34 37 39 41 Now I’d like to ask you about some issues that might be important in the election. For each, please tell me whether you think the Democratic Party or the Republican party is doing a better job with this issue, or if there is no difference. Do you feel the Democratic Party or the Republican Party is doing a better job with this issue? Is that a MUCH better job or SOMEWHAT? 21

Engaging Asian Americans

Asian Americans report having been contacted by the parties in slightly higher numbers in Nevada than other states. By the Democratic Party By the Republican Party 28 18 23 Have you been contacted by the Democratic party/Republican party in the past two years a great deal, some, a little, or not at all?

More than half of Asian Americans in Nevada say they are more enthusiastic to vote this year. +30 24 Compared to previous elections, would you say you are more enthusiastic about voting in 2012 than usual, or less enthusiastic than usual? [IF MORE OR LESS ENTHUSIASTIC: Is that much more/less enthusiastic or somewhat?]

One in six Asian American voters in Nevada would be helped in the voting process by in-language assistance. *Asked of 79 respondents who took the survey in another language or say they speak another language at home For future elections, would in-language assistance make you more or less likely to vote in elections, or would it make no difference? 25

Asian Americans and their Potential Impact

In Nevada, Asian Americans could give Obama a 9,000 vote advantage over Romney, based on the current 25 point lead for Obama and assuming similar turnout to 2008. However, 1 in 6 are still undecided. 35,000 Asian Americans voted in the November 2008 election of 970,000 total voters in Nevada. +25 *Asked of 105 respondents 27 Assuming Mitt Romney is the nominee for the Republican party, if the election for President was held today and the candidates were: President Barack Obama, Democrat and Former Governor Mitt Romney, Republican, for whom would you vote, or are you undecided?

Washington, DC | Berkeley, CA | New York, NY LakeResearch.com 202.776.9066 Celinda Lake clake@lakeresearch.com David Mermin dmermin@lakeresearch.com Shilpa Grover sgrover@lakeresearch.com