Claim: Vietnamese Americans are more likely to self-identify as Republicans than Democrats.
Rating: This claim is FALSE, at least for now.
In the latest 2024 Asian American Voter Survey (AAVS), more Vietnamese American registered voters self-identified as Democrats and said they would cast their ballot for President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump if the election were held today.
Vietnamese Americans have held the reputation of being the only Asian American group to lean Republican. In the same survey conducted in 2020, 38% identified as Republicans, and 27% as Democrats. That year, nearly half of Vietnamese respondents said they’d vote for Trump over Biden.
But in 2024, 37% identified as Democrats, 33% as Republicans, and more Vietnamese voters said they would choose Biden over Trump, at 40% vs. 38%. About a quarter were undecided or for a third party.
Nearly all of them said they planned to vote this November.
The survey was conducted before the likely Democratic candidate changed to Vice President Kamala Harris. When asked to rank their impression of the Vice President, Vietnamese voters were divided equally, with a “favorable” or “unfavorable” view each tallying 45%.
The survey also asked voters to rank the top issues that influence their vote. The leading category for Vietnamese Americans was jobs and the economy, with 88% of respondents rating it “very” or “extremely” important. Almost twice the amount of voters indicated they believe the Republican Party is doing a better job at handling the economy than Democrats.
Other topics that over 80% of Vietnamese voters said were important were inflation, cost of housing, healthcare, education, crime, and social security/Medicare. Except for inflation and crime, Vietnamese voters were slightly more likely to believe that the Democratic Party is doing a better job at handling these issues.
Over half of Vietnamese voters also agreed that immigration, national security, reproductive rights, gun control, and racism were important issues. Less than half said they cared about climate change and the Israel/Gaza conflict.