Copyright The Boston Globe
The two rising stars, both from Andover, are vying for the district’s first open Democratic seat in decades among a field that so far includes former state representative Jamie Belsito and software engineer Bethany Andres-Beck. Koh, 40, worked in the Biden White House and was a top aide to former Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh. Nguyen, 39, was an attorney representing immigrants at Greater Boston Legal Services before unseating Republican incumbent State Representative Jim Lyons in an upset in 2018. Koh and Nguyen will need to draw on broad support to win a district that stretches from Newburyport to Lynn that’s largely white but has a significant pocket of Asian Americans in Andover and sizable Latino populations in Lynn and Salem. But they’re also leaning on organized Asian American networks — both local and national — for donations and endorsements. Of course, an endorsement from Wu herself would give a big boost to either candidacy. She knows both well. The political spotlight may be shining brightly on Wu — who is cruising to her second term as the first woman, person of color, and Asian American to be elected mayor of Boston. But a growing list of Asian Americans have run for office in the state — and won, a testament to the ethnic group’s emerging political influence here. An analysis by the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston found that 116 Asian Americans serve as elected officials in Massachusetts. Nearly one-quarter of them are on school committees, while 14 percent sit on city councils, 11 percent on town select boards, and 6 percent in the Legislature. Wu is the only mayor. (Attleboro, Fitchburg, Lowell, and Cambridge have had Asian American mayors in the past). “The Asian community is really coming of age,” said retired Boston attorney Paul Lee, who is one of Wu’s biggest donors and fund-raises for Asian American candidates. “They’re realizing that they need representation, that representation matters.” Asian Americans may account for only 7 percent of the population in Massachusetts, but they’re the fastest growing ethnic and racial group in the state. According to the 2020 Census, the state is home more than 500,000 Asian Americans, a 45 percent increase since 2010. It is, of course, a diverse group, with high concentrations of people with roots in China and India, as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, and the Philippines,according to Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote. Many are immigrants but others were born in the United States. And in some towns, the Asian American population is considerable, making up more than 20 percent including in Lexington, Quincy, Malden, Acton, Shrewsbury, Westborough, and Lowell, according to the Institute for Asian American Studies. Unlike previous generations, they’re not keeping their heads down. Take, for example, what’s happening in Quincy. After the School Committee repeatedly rejected proposals to make Lunar New Year a holiday, Tom Leung (no relation to me) and Kai Lee decided this year to run for School Committee. If elected, they would be the first Asian Americans on that body, which oversees a district where close to 40 percent of students are Asian. All told, there were seven Asian American candidates on Quincy’s ballot this election cycle, the most ever, according to Quincy City Councilor Nina Liang. She has been Quincy’s first and only Chinese American councilor and is not seeking reelection after a decade in the role. Paul Watanabe, a UMass Boston professor of political science and director of the Institute of Asian American Studies, said there’s been a sea change in Asian American attitudes in the half century he has been following politics. “We are no longer invisible and are willing to be nails rather than afraid to stick out,” observed Watanabe. It’s a path similar to the ones trod in the past by Irish and Italian communities that came to hold great sway in Massachusetts, building powerful networks that drive voter turnout, and win elections. And the offices they’re seeking are getting bigger and bigger. The number of Asian Americans and serving in Congress hit a record high this year with 20 in the House and three in the Senate. Asian American women, in particular, are not waiting their turns and several are seeking governorships in 2026 including Cyndi Munson in Oklahoma, Francesca Hong in Wisconsin, and Betty Yee in California. “People are stepping up. There is this moment right now where you can’t really opt out,” said Diana Hwang, founder of the Asian American Women’s Political Initiative. Hwang, who encouraged Nguyen to seek Moulton’s seat, said not only is it notable that Koh and Nguyen are running, but some view them as front-runners. “In this moment when immigrants and refugees and diversity itself are under attack,” she added, “how does that not give you hope? In the 1980s and 1990s, you could pretty much count the number of Asian Americans in office in Massachusetts on your fingers. There was Attleboro mayor Kai Shang and Brookline School Committee member Terry Kwan, both whom were elected in 1985. Amy Mah Sangiolo came along in 1997 when she won a seat on the Newton City Council. Mah Sangiolo recalls when she first ran, a former elected official offered some advice: Focus on her married last name, which is Italian, rather that her Chinese-American identity. She was told, for example, to avoid displaying photos on campaign brochures and let voters think that she’s “a nice Italian girl.” Mah Sangiolo, an environmental attorney, was stunned, then incensed. She went all-in on being Asian not only with photos but also translating campaign literature into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. “I just made sure everybody knew that I was a loud mouth, Asian American woman who would fight to make sure that every voice was heard,” said Mah Sangiolo, who went on to spend two decades on the City Council and last year was elected as a state representative from Newton. With Koh and Nguyen both in the race, there’s some concern they could split the vote, both being Asian Americans in their shared hometown of Andover, giving a path to another candidate. Still, Koh — who is half Korean, half Lebanese — and Nguyen — who is Vietnamese American — have carved vastly different paths into politics. Koh hails from a well-to-do family, the Harvard-educated son of two doctors. He served as chief of staff to Walsh, first when he was Boston mayor and later secretary of labor, then he took a role in the Biden administration. Koh has run for Congress before, narrowly losing to Lori Trahan in the 2018 Democratic primary for the Third District congressional seat, before redistricting put Andover in the Sixth. Koh then won a seat on the Andover Select Board and served for two years before heading to Washington. Since launching his campaign on Oct. 15, Koh says he’s raised more than $800,000. Nguyen and her familycame to the Merrimack Valley when she was 5, Vietnamese refugees with $100 to their name. She was the first in her family to graduate from college: Tufts, Northeastern Law School, Harvard Kennedy School. As a legislator, she has focused on affordability for working families, climate action, and reducing hate crime. She also has been a prolific fund-raiser, ranking among the top 10 lawmakers in the State House with the most cash in their campaign coffers, according to state filings. “I‘m proud to see a diverse field of candidates, and I’m proud to be running with — and truly see it as with — Representative Nguyen whom I deeply respect," said Koh in an interview. Tram considers herself to be “friends and very friendly” with Koh, but she’s hoping she has the advantage as “as the only sitting legislator in this race, as someone who’s done the work across the district.” One thing’s for sure, Koh and Nguyen have a shot at breaking another barrier for Asian Americans in politics — and not a moment too soon.
