ICYMI: Congresswoman Grace Meng Joins Democratic Party of Georgia for “AAPI Flip the Senate Virtual Event and Phone Bank”

Yesterday, Georgia Democrats hosted a virtual call to action event and phone bank with Congresswoman Grace Meng during the first week of in-person early voting in Georgia. Congresswoman Meng discussed the importance of mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the runoff elections and energized volunteers before transitioning into a phone bank.

Earlier in the day, ASPIRE PAC, which Congresswoman Meng chairs, announced a new investment in Georgia Democrats’ Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) outreach program, which will go towards hiring additional staff to build AAPI community-specific outreach.  

Yesterday’s event was one of several events hosted by Georgia Democrats this past week to engage AAPI communities and voters. On Sunday, the Young Democrats of Georgia AAPI Caucus held a call to action event and phone bank with State Representative Sam Park and State Senator Sheikh Rahman, in which volunteers called young AAPI voters who voted in November to ensure they have a plan to vote in the runoff elections. On Wednesday, the Democratic Party of Georgia kicked off its weekly AAPI Women Flip the Senate phone bank with special guest State Senator-elect Dr. Michelle Au, who spoke on the importance of the AAPI community building and utilizing its power at the polls.

You can watch the event with Congresswoman Meng here. Quotes and photos from this week’s events can be found below:

Virtual Event and Phone Bank with Congresswoman Grace Meng

“ASPIRE PAC is the political arm of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.We just announced significant investment – it’s really historic what we are doing with the Democratic Party of Georgia. The investment is specifically targeted towards boosting Georgia’s AAPI outreach efforts for the two senatorial campaigns, including additional staffing and increased multilingual outreach,” said ASPIRE PAC Chair Congresswoman Grace Meng. “We want to build on the momentum that we saw coming out of the November election. I don’t have to tell you all how instrumental our AAPI community was in helping flip Georgia, and to literally help save our country. What happened in Georgia and in our communities across many battleground states was a direct result of years of hard work, years of investing in the AAPI community.”

Virtual Event and Phone Bank with State Senator-elect Dr. Michelle Au

“It’s great that people are noticing the work we’re doing and recognizing that we are a voting block to be reckoned with. But let’s write that next chapter – not simply that Asian people exist, that we show up, and that we are drivers of our state’s destiny, but that we’re also agents of change. Let our story be not of passivity, but of power. For as long as we’ve been overlooked, we are a force to be reckoned with,” said State Senator-elect Dr. Michelle Au. “What we want is to get at these voters, especially younger voters, because we want to establish early the importance of setting up a habit of caring about electoral politics, voting early, and voting every single time, and we know that women in our community in particular set the standard for our families, children, partners, and colleagues.

Virtual Event and Phone Bank with State Representative Sam Park and State Senator Sheikh Rahman

“We saw this past November the power of our vote as Asian Americans. We were the margin of victory in flipping Georgia blue and changing the course of this country,” said State Representative Sam Park. “That’s the power of our vote and community. Reach out to your friends, colleagues, young Asian Americans who call Georgia home and encourage and inspire them to use the power they have to turnout and vote for Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock. There is so much at stake, but what gives me hope is that we have the ability and the opportunity to determine the course and direction of our country during these incredibly challenging times. But it’s up to us.”

“We cannot make a difference without young people, like you, all coming together to get this thing done. It’s so important. Last election, we saw the increase of our AAPI community. We can own this election. We make the difference. Let’s make sure we have a plan to vote,” said State Senator Sheikh Rahman. “Early in-person voting starts Monday, December 14, and we want to encourage people to make a plan to vote. We don’t need to wait until January 5. Whenever someone on the other line hears somebody from AAPI, it feels like one of their own is calling. That’s really important – we can make a difference.”

###