Asian-Americans in Massachusetts have run for mayor (Sam Yoon, Boston), and some have even won (Lisa Wong, Fitchburg). They are city councilors (Nina Liang, Quincy; Michelle Wu, Boston), and lawmakers on Beacon Hill (Tackey Chan, Donald Wong).
But Congress? That barrier hasn’t been broken yet, but this may be the year. Just take a look at the Democratic field in the Third District: Three out of the 10 candidates are Asian-Americans — Beej Das, Dan Koh, and Bopha Malone.
“It’s not only that they are among the first Asian-Americans to seek office at this level in our state, but they represent the diversity among Asian-Americans,” said Paul Watanabe, director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Das, a hotel owner, is the son of Indian immigrants. Koh, the former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, is half Korean and half Lebanese. Malone, a bank vice president, fled Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime when she was 3 and spent much of her childhood in refugee camps before immigrating to the United States.
They’re running to fill a seat being vacated by Representative Niki Tsongas, who is retiring after a decade in Congress. The Third is a sprawling district northwest of Boston, encompassing 37 cities and towns, including Lowell, home to the nation’s
second-largest Cambodian-American community.
Only 18 Asian-Americans or Pacific Islanders serve in Congress, according to the Asian Pacific American Institute for…
