Part of a series of behind-the-scenes looks at the Judy Chu for Congress Campaign by APAP PAC Glen S. Fukushima Campaign Fellow Michael Nailat.

It's probably unlucky to start off these blog posts on the number 13, but if the history of politics has anything to tell us, it's that luck is usually the smallest part of the equation.  In fact, relying on luck in an election like this one is about as safe as standing three inches away from Pacquiao's left hook.

At Judy Chu's campaign offices in Baldwin Park, fight night is every night.  Since the campaign started nearly 3 months ago, the staffers and volunteers here have called or knocked on the doors of thousands of voters.   Yes, thousands.  I can't be much more specific than that since we're still 2 weeks away from Election Day, but whatever number you're thinking it is, it's more than that.   What I can say, however, is that a sizeable chunk of those have been Asian and Pacific Islander American voters.

Why API's?  Well without getting too much into the socioeconomic and cultural shifts that have occurred in the San Gabriel Valley in the last two or three decades, it's safe to say that there's a lot of Asians out here.  All the signs are there, literally, as a drive down Valley, or over to Amar and Azusa, will show you.  In fact, in the last ten years the API population in Congressional District 32 has tripled in size and doubled in proportion; a little over 20% of the population in this district is API, compared to 10% for the City of LA. 

In other words, there's enough untapped potential API political power in the SGV to give even the Pac-Man a run for his money.

 Of course one can't presume that simply because Judy Chu is Chinese American that everyone one of those 130,000 plus APIs are going to vote for her, lest we paint our community as monolithic or homogenous.  Obscured within those Census statistics is the fact that this community is made up of thousands of Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Japanese, and everything else -Americans.  Yes, thousands.  And even within those thousands are even smaller distinct ethno-linguistic groups.  All with their own set of political beliefs and values.  I mean, I couldn't even begin to tell you who someone from Cebu is going to vote for, but I might have some insight on what Miagoanons are thinking.  Know what I mean?   Exactly.

So what does this all mean for special election in a small valley tucked in between a looming megalopolis and an inland empire? 

It means we have a lot more fighting to do. 

Excited?  I am too.