All posts tagged: election

Hmong, Lao Americans running for public office in 2020

Published by Chelsey See Xiong

Tuesday marks the start of the 2020 primary election season, whose results will determine what names will appear on the general election ballot on Nov. 3 for many of the races. There are some Hmong and Lao Americans running for public office this year, and Little Laos on the Prairie compiled of list of candidates, from Congressional to municipal, to watch. While we see new faces from the municipal to the Congressional level, familiar names include Minnesota State Senator Foung Hawj, who is running for his third term, and Mayor Steve Ly, who also is campaigning for his third term for the mayoral seat of Elk Grove, California. Five Hmong Americans currently seated in the Minnesota State House are up for re-election.  CONGRESSIONAL RACES Bobby Bliatout Party Affiliation: Democrat Office: U.S. House of Representatives for California’s 22nd Congressional District This will be Bliatout’s second time running for California’s 22nd Congressional District. The first time he ran for this office was in the 2018 election, losing in the primary to fellow Democrat Andrew Janz. For more …

The Lao Minnesotan Voice and Vote In 2012

Published by Bryan Thao Worra

Like the old Lionel Ritchie song, Lao Minnesotans could go all night long debating what worked and what didn’t with the elections, what surprised us and what we had confirmed. It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a nail-biter of an election, with so many opportunities and so many risks for our community in play. There are many areas where Lao Americans need to understand our potential for impact and where we we have room to grow. Where’s the outreach? Neither DFL nor GOP candidates made much election-specific outreach to Lao Minnesotans this year. Once we do decide on a candidate, we often vote repeatedly for clear friends of the community. We met almost no one new this year. There were very few overtures made to address our specific concerns on key issues for Lao Americans in any language. Little was done by party operatives to help our community get out the vote or provide voter assistance.  That may have cost a few key races, particularly in St. Cloud. Where were the Lao …