AJSOCAL Statement on 2026 Midterm Results Cites Historic Firsts in Governor and Senate Races
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), based in Los Angeles, California, issued a statement on November 4 on the results of the 2026 midterm elections. As results continue to be tallied across the country, the organization praised voters for exercising their right to vote and cited a series of historic firsts emerging from the election.
The gubernatorial milestones cited in the statement include Deb Haaland becoming the first Native American woman elected governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the first Black woman elected governor, Xavier Becerra becoming California's first elected Latino governor, Byron Donalds becoming Florida's first Black governor, Amy Acton becoming Ohio's first woman elected governor, and Gina Hinojosa becoming the first Latina governor of Texas. In the U.S. Senate, the statement cited Abdul El-Sayed becoming the first Muslim elected, Chris Pappas becoming the first openly gay man elected, and Peggy Flanagan becoming the first Native American woman elected.
AJSOCAL Chief Executive Officer Dahni Tsuboi said in the statement that the organization is proud to stand alongside its communities at this important moment for American democracy, and expressed hope that the voices expressed in the election will lead to policies that better serve everyone. The statement added that Asian American voters are expected to demonstrate once again their growing influence as a consequential voting bloc in races across the country.
The statement also reviewed AJSOCAL's voting-rights work ahead of Election Day: joining a federal lawsuit challenging the targeting and intimidation of naturalized citizens, collaborating with Fair Elections Center on an amicus brief opposing efforts to segregate California mail ballots based on flawed citizenship data, and calling on nine Southern California county sheriffs to commit that county deputies and resources would not be used to support federal immigration enforcement operations at or near voting locations.
AJSOCAL said it also helped communities participate through multilingual voting resources and community partnerships, and monitored more than 80 voting centers in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The statement thanked the voters, volunteers and community organizations who helped make participation possible.
Source: AJSOCAL
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Asian Americans Advancing Justice 成员参加2018年1月在亚特兰大举行的 Power to the Polls 集会（资料照片）。Marc Merlin 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Members of Asian Americans Advancing Justice at the Power to the Polls rally in Atlanta, January 2018 (file photo). By Marc Merlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
