The Asian-American community responded positively to the RNC’s targeted focus during May's Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.
"Rarely does someone give the GOP proper credit for our diversity, but in particular, this community has emerged as very enthusiastic supporters of the Party and President Trump’s agenda, and for our part at the RNC, we’re capitalizing on that enthusiasm,” RNC APA Press Secretary Miki Carver told Townhall.
The RNC has been traveling the country to empower American Pacific Islander (API) communities, hosting multiple trainings with API leaders across the country. The Republican Leadership Initiative is a national training program of the RNC that is designed to equip the next generation of grassroots leaders. RLI is the flagship program of the RNC and it is how the RNC maintains their permanent, data-driven field program all year long. The RNC is constantly training RLI leaders however, on June 1st, the RNC shifted their focus to planting RLI trained leaders in communities where they will be focused on making voter contacts.
"The RNC has trained over 14,000 fellows through the RLI program this election cycle more than doubling their numbers from the 2016 election cycle," Carver explained. The RNC’s ability to more than double their numbers the year after a presidential election cycle, shows the emphasis that the RNC places on the program as well as the significance of the program, which “speaks to the on-the-ground enthusiasm for President Trump and the Republican Party as we head into November.”
“Since November, Asian Pacific Islanders have participated in RLI trainings in NV, FL, MD, NY, OH, MI and CA,” the RNC told Townhall.
In February, the RNC held an RLI Training at a New York locally owned restaurant and over 70 members of the American Pacific Asian (APA) community. It was triple the size of the average RLI training. The committee mused that the impressive turnout is likely due to the community's emphasis on jobs and the economy.
“Economic uncertainty was the single most significant challenge to their business, followed by taxes and poor sales,” according to the findings of the U.S. Bank National Association October 2017 survey.
“President Trump and congressional Republicans have delivered with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a once-in-a-generation law specifically designed to grow the economy, increase investment, and facilitate job creation,” Carver told Townhall.
According to a June 2016 report from the Office of Advocacy of U.S. Small Business Administration, small business accounted for 63.3 percent of new jobs. “Small businesses as a whole support nearly half of all private sector employees,” Carver said.
“Our APA fellows have helped to grow the Party’s presence across the country,"she added. "Now that they are trained, they are ready to help us get our message of economic prosperity out to their neighbors and friends."