Asian American Survey - Nevada

Findings from a Survey of 700 Asian American Voters nationwide plus 100 each in FL, IL, NV, and VACelinda Lake, David Mermin, and Shilpa GroverLake Research PartnersWashington, DC | Berkeley, CA | New York, NYLakeResearch.com202.776.9066

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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.

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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.

Who Asian American Voters Are

5

Demographics of registered Asian American voters in NevadaLanguage 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%• Vietnamese – 8%• 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%

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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.

79

15 3 2 0 0Almostcertain

Probably 50-50 Probably not Definitely not Don't know

Likelihood of Voting

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?

7

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.

39

2

30

1613

Child (0-12) Teenager(13-17)

Young Adult(18-29)

Adult (30+) Don't know

Age of Immigration to U.S.

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?

Born in US, 46

Born in another country,

53

Don't know, 0

8

Of those who were born in the U.S., two-thirds have immigrant parents.

65

35

0Born in another country Born in US Don't know

Parents Born in US or Another Country

Was either your mother or your father born in a country other than the United States?

*Asked among those who were born in the United States

9

87

43

34

16

13

5

0

0

Television

Internet and social media

Newspapers

Radio

Friends and family

Community organizations and leaders inmy community

None

Don't know

News Source for Politics in United States

A large proportion of Asian Americans in Nevada report turning to television as their main news source.

Thinking about news, which of the following sources would you say you use to get news about politics in the United States?

10

71

4

25

Mostly in English

Mostly in another language

Equal mix of both

Language of News

A full quarter of Asian Americans in Nevada consume at least some of their news in a non-English language.

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

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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.

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?

4047

13

56

33

11

Right direction Wrong track Don't know Right direction Wrong track Don't know

Direction of Country

*Asked of half the sample

How things are going in the country* How things are going in the country for people like you*

+23-7

13

Asian Americans in Nevada are largely lukewarm or negative about the economy.

514

40 38

3

Excellent Good Just fair Poor Don't know

U.S. Economy

How would you rate how the U.S. economy is doing right now—would you say it is excellent, good, just fair, or poor?

14

Asian Americans in Nevada are more likely to rate President Obama’s performance as poor than Asian Americans nationwide.

8

4230

20

0Excellent Good Just fair Poor Don't know

President Obama's Job Performance

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

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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.

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.

Net

-21

+4268

27

58

25

26

48

25

56

31

6

23

6

14

26

10

31

Barack Obama

Mitt Romney

The Democratic Party

The Republican Party

Favorability

+33

-31

Unfavorable Favorable

NO/NH

26

6

17

19

17

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.

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?

54

29

164116

Obama Romney Undecided

Presidential Ballot

+25

*Asked of 105 respondents. 7 received a similar question on Obama vs. Santorum before he dropped out.

18

Nearly two-thirds of Asian Americans in Nevada report voting for Obama in 2008.

63

196 12

Obama McCain Neither/ other/ don'tremember/ refused

Didn't vote

2008 Vote

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?

19

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.

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?

45

2332

38

13

Democratic candidate Republican candidate Undecided

Generic Congressional Ballot

+22

20

Asian Americans in Nevada give the Democratic party the highest ratings on standing up for the middle class, education, and health care.

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?

No Diff/DK

29

24

26

37

28

27

64

59

57

51

49

53

13

12

17

12

23

21

39

38

37

34

33

30

8

8

7

8

11

14

Standing up for the middle class

Education

Health care

Treating all Americans fairly and equally

Sharing your values

Jobs and the economy

Which Party Doing Better Job

Republican Party Democratic Party

21

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.

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?

No Diff/DK

42

43

34

34

38

21

23

29

27

21

29

27

21

21

20

7

12

16

14

12

Immigration

Taxes

National security

The budget deficit

Foreign policy

Which Party Doing Better Job

37

Republican Party Democratic Party

34

37

39

41

Engaging Asian Americans

23

Asian Americans report having been contacted by the parties in slightly higher numbers in Nevada than other states.

820 21

48

9 9

25

56

A greatdeal

Some A little Not atall

A greatdeal

Some A little Not atall

Been Contacted in the Past Two Years

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?

By the Democratic Party By the Republican Party

28 18

24

More than half of Asian Americans in Nevada say they are more enthusiastic to vote this year.

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?]

52

22 25

268

More enthusiastic Less enthusiastic Same

Enthusiasm for voting in 2012

+30

25

One in six Asian American voters in Nevada would be helped in the voting process by in-language assistance.

For future elections, would in-language assistance make you more or less likely to vote in elections, or would it make no difference?

161

83

More likely Less likely No difference/ don't know

In-Language Assistance More/Less Likely to Vote*

*Asked of 79 respondents who took the survey in another language or say they speak another language at home

Asian Americans and their Potential Impact

27

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.

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?

54

29

164116

Obama Romney Undecided

Presidential Ballot - Nevada

+25

*Asked of 105 respondents

35,000 Asian Americans voted in the November 2008 election of 970,000 total voters in Nevada.

Celinda Lakeclake@lakeresearch.com

David Mermindmermin@lakeresearch.com

Shilpa Groversgrover@lakeresearch.com

Washington, DC | Berkeley, CA | New York, NYLakeResearch.com202.776.9066