Welcome to Issue #281! Today’s stories kick off with democratic socialists winning from the nation’s capital to New York City’s House races a year after Zohran Mamdani captured City Hall. Then, we move to the mayor’s witty comeback at Vice President JD Vance, who’s been accused of taking credit for his work.
The rest of this issue dives deeper into the midterm results: Trump-backed Vivek Ramaswamy losing the Ohio governor’s race; Democrat and fellow Indian American Pia Dandiya winning a Florida congressional seat redrawn under a GOP-backed map; and Derek Tran securing reelection in a redrawn California district. We also cover Guam and Georgia electing historic firsts, among them the latter’s first openly trans lawmaker. In entertainment, race and sexuality likewise drive a fan debate over reports that Ben Wang could play Marvel’s Iceman.
Featured
A year after Mamdani, Democratic socialists win big in the midterms
Democratic socialists won major races nationwide Tuesday, a year after Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City. Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman is projected to unseat Mayor Karen Bass.
Two Asian American Democrats lost primaries — and both races involved the movement.
What else we’re tracking
Vance took credit over NYC, and here’s how Mamdani responded
This week, Vice President JD Vance credited the Trump administration with a drop in New York murders. In a staggering contrast, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wordless reply drew about 200 times as many likes.
After his crushing Ohio gubernatorial loss, what’s next for Vivek Ramaswamy?
Trump-backed Vivek Ramaswamy lost the Ohio governor’s race to Democrat Amy Acton. Some Republicans blame him for down-ballot losses, but here’s what he plans to do next.
Indian American Democrat Pia Dandiya pulls off a Florida upset in Trump country
Democrat Pia Dandiya won a Florida congressional seat redrawn under a Republican-backed map and set a state first. During the campaign, she had a blunt message for Trump supporters.
Derek Tran holds Little Saigon congressional seat in historic Vietnamese American showdown
Democratic Rep. Derek Tran won a second term against fellow Vietnamese American Chuong Vo in a district redrawn under Proposition 50. As a refresher, he first won the seat by 653 votes.
Alicia Limtiaco becomes Guam’s first Chamoru woman in Congress
Democrat Alicia Limtiaco defeated Republican James Moylan by 662 votes in the midterms’ first flip of a Republican-held seat. The former Guam attorney general opposes limiting birthright citizenship in U.S. territories.
Georgia elects its first Japanese American, first openly trans lawmaker
Democrat Bentley Hudgins won a metro Atlanta state House seat in a landslide — and they have since been slamming Republican critics. Here’s some of their priorities when they take office.
Marvel fans clash over Ben Wang potentially playing a white superhero
Chinese American actor Ben Wang is reportedly in talks to play Iceman, a founding X-Men member. However, fans are split over changing the character’s ethnicity and whether the film will keep him gay.
Why read Issue #281?
The Asian American candidates in this issue ran across the party and ideological spectrum, with uneven results. Indian American Republicans lost in at least four states, while Asian American Democrats won seats in Congress and the Georgia House. An Indian American democratic socialist is projected to lead Los Angeles. Looking back, two Asian American Democrats lost their primaries this year.
Some of the victors campaigned on living costs, and GOP ads targeting socialists and trans people did not stop them … though Republicans still won Florida’s U.S. Senate special election.
But as we stressed in the previous issue, policy matters. You can judge this new class of elected officials by their record on costs and civil rights once they take office.
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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.