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Partisan Strength and Nonpartisanship Among Asian Americans

Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

James C. Garand

Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

Relatively little is known about partisan identification among immigrant-dominated ethnic groups in the United States. In this article we build on the work of Lien, Conway, and Wong (2004) to explore patterns of partisan strength and nonpartisanship among Asian Americans. We note that more than one third of Asian Americans do not identify themselves on the standard seven-point partisan identification scale, indicating that they either have no party attachment (denoted no-party nonpartisans) or are not sure of their partisanship (denoted unsure nonpartisans). Using data from the 2000-2001 Pilot National Asian American Political Survey, we estimate separate models of (a) partisan acquisition (i.e., partisan vs. nonpartisan), (b) strength of partisanship, and (c) type of nonpartisanship. As expected, we find significant differences in this Asian American sample between partisans and nonpartisans and among strong partisans, weak or independent-leaning partisans, and pure independents. In our nonpartisanship model, we also find discernible differences among pure independents, no-party nonpartisans, and unsure nonpartisans. Our findings address questions about how one should test models of party strength in Asian American samples, particularly given the relatively large percentage of nonpartisans among Asian Americans in comparison to samples drawn from the general population.

Key Words: party identification • Asian Americans • ethnicity • political participation • voting • nonpartisanship

This version was published on May 1, 2009

American Politics Research, Vol. 37, No. 3, 375-408 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X08324228


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