Tim Kaine courts Asian voters for Hillary Clinton
Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia is helping his running mate reach out to Asian-American voters, a critical voting bloc in key swing states that could help decide November's election.
An aide to Hillary Clinton's campaign told The Hill newspaper that Kaine is helping with outreach to Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) as the general election race intensifies.
"This campaign understands that turning out the AAPI vote is critical, and that's why we will continue to engage AAPI voters in key states such as Virginia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania," the aide told the newspaper, according to the report.
"Sen. Kaine will continue to travel across the country to amplify Hillary's record for the AAPI community," the aide said. "The campaign will continue to conduct outreach in Asian languages, deploy a robust network of AAPI and South Asian surrogates, and continue to active our vast 'AAPI for Hillary' volunteer groups, including South Asians for Hillary."
The report said that before he was even selected as Clinton's running mate, he dined with an elite group of South Asian liberals at a private home on Capitol Hill to discuss how important their community will be on Election Day.
Now, Kaine is helping a super PAC for the voting bloc to register new Asian voters and encourage turnout.
Five percent of Virginia's electorate, the report points out, is made up of the AAPI community.
A CBS News poll released last weekend found that Clinton leads Donald Trump in Virginia by double digits -- 49 percent to 37 percent. In Nevada, it's a much closer race with 41 percent of the state's voters backing Trump and 43 percent supporting Clinton.
This week, a Quinnipiac University survey found that Clinton leads Trump in Pennsylvania by 10 percentage points -- 52 percent to 42 percent.