Everyone Says We Should Be Winning: Asian American Descriptive Representation

• In Event: Asian American Political Behavior: Diverse Communities and Methodologies

Abstract

Recent optimistic assessments in political science of the prospects for Asian American descriptive representation stand in stark contrast to persistent institutional barriers to representation on the ballot, as well as extant scholarship that is decidedly mixed on whether Asian Americans perceive a connection to others in the racial group outside of their own ethnic or national origin group. This study will utilize a counterfactual analysis of state legislative candidate data from 1996-2020 to assess whether the absence of Asian American candidates may be driving persistent underrepresentation, and advance a theory of descriptive representation rooted in the distinct contours and characteristics of Asian Americans as a pan-ethnic racial group.

Authors

• Christian Dyogi Phillips, University of Southern California

• Paru Shah, Rutgers University