Michigan State Senator Hansen Clarke, who attended the launch of APAP's Detroit Chapter last year, has just announced that he is running for Congress. Clarke, who switches from his run for Governor, becomes the seventh South Asian to run for Congress this year. All of them are Democrats.

Today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced the first round of candidates selected for the prestigious “Red to Blue” program that targets GOP-held districts. It's awesome that the list includes two Asian American candidates: Ami Bera who is running in CA-03 and Raj Goyle who is running in KS-04.

Former Houston City Councilman Gordon Quan this week won the Democratic nomination for Harris County Judge.  Quan sailed to victory with 81.2 percent of the vote setting up a race between himself and the incumbent Republican County Judge for this November’s general election.  Harris County, which includes almost all of the city of Houston, is the nation’s third largest county and is home to a population larger than 24 states.

On Sunday, May 2nd, please join Asian Pacific Americans for Progress as we host our annual State of Asian Pacific America House Party. Last year, attendees at house parties all across the country got to hear from such noted guests as Barack Obama's brother-in-law, Konrad Ng; the White House's Tina Tchen; Assistant Secretary for Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth and Congressmembers Judy Chu and Joe Sestak.

APA for Progress Boston is proud to host a conversation with Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung. We'll talk with Leland about his political campaign, his early experiences as a city councilor, and political activism in the Greater Boston Asian community.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

7:30pm - 8:30pm

Boylston Hall, Harvard Yard

On Mass Ave, across the street from Qdoba (1280 Mass Ave)

Wow, it seems like just yesterday we were discussing Raja Krishnamoorthi as the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Now word comes out that Governor Pat Quinn would actually like to add Assistant Secretary of Defense Tammy Duckworth to the ticket. It's great to see so many qualified Asian Americans being concerned for top level positions.

After suffering a narrow loss for Illinois state comptroller, Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi now has his sights set on a bigger prize: the state's Lieutenant Governor. According to the Peoria Journal, Krishnamoorthi is letting it be known that he wants to be considered for this office on the Democratic ticket.

Here's an article from the Seattle Times on the tightrope that Louisiana Republican Joseph Cao has had to walk as he tries to run for re-election in a heavily Democratic district. He voted against Obama's economic stimulus package, but then turned around and provided the lone Republican vote for health care reform.

Here's a short piece on Congressional candidate Ami Bera that appeared in the LA Times today. Bera is one of six Indian Americans running for Congress this year. Of the six, all of whom are Democrats, Bera seems to be in the top tier, if not the top contender to win in November.

For the second time, President Obama's nominee for the Northern District of California, Magistrate Edward Chen, has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee by a party line vote of 12-7. If you'll remember, Chen's nomination has been stalled by Republicans who have criticized Chen for his public statements and background as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. From an editorial in the San Francisco Gate: