In the 2008 election for the same seat, all three of the candidates were Vietnamese Americans.
Political observers said it was probably easier for Vietnamese American politicians to win races during low-turnout contests, such as the special supervisors race in 2007. But an election such as Tuesday's contest, featuring a presidential contest and high-interest state ballot measures, easily diluted the Vietnamese vote, said Linda Vo, chairwoman of the UC Irvine Asian American studies department.
"The focus before was that Vietnamese American candidates could win just with the Vietnamese vote," Vo said.
She said that strategy of relying on the ethnic vote works mostly in smaller elections. In general elections, when turnout is robust, Vietnamese American candidates need to develop strategies to appeal more to non-Vietnamese voters, she said.
"It's always a steeper hill to climb in a general election for an ethnic candidate to have enough resources to reach out beyond the candidate's ethnic community," said Assemblyman Van Tran (R-Garden Grove), who is one of the highest-ranking Vietnamese American politicians in the country.
--
my-thuan.tran@latimes.com
