A popular adage among campaign strategists is that "politics is addition." MAGA Republicans would do well to keep that in mind as the midterm elections approach.
Roughly two-thirds of the voting public believe the country is on the wrong track, and they blame Republicans rather than Democrats for higher food and energy prices. Not only is Donald Trump's overall job-approval rating in the mid-30s, but he's underwater in a handful of battleground states with races that could decide who controls Congress.
Some Republicans have decided that now is the time for racial and ethnic purity tests. Last month Bo French, Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, posted a photo on social media of Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin celebrating the football team's victory over Ohio State. "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this," Mr. French wrote above the image. "I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."
Mr. French has a history of this behavior. He has described Democrats as "retarded" and "gay" and asked his social-media followers if Jews or Muslims pose "a bigger threat to the U.S." His bigotry has prompted condemnation on the left and right, including a stinging rebuke on these pages from Karl Rove. "The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenches -- and not only in Texas," Mr. Rove wrote. "There are 'just asking questions' Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won't differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots. These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it."
Bully for Karl. It's important that party elders call out bigotry wherever it emerges, including within their ranks. A major political party that decides to indulge cranks rather than marginalize them doesn't deserve to win elections. What's lost on the MAGA faithful, it seems, is that its anti-Asian sentiment isn't only morally repugnant but also politically foolish.
When Texas re-elected Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022, he beat his Democratic opponent among Asian voters, 52% to 46%. According to the New York Times, in statewide races in Florida and Georgia that year, Republican candidates received at least a third of the Asian vote, which is "substantially more than in previous elections." In national elections, Republican support among Asian voters grew from 24% in 2004 to 32% in 2022. Don't tell Bo French, but nonwhite support for the GOP has been growing generally in the Trump era. The Pew Research Center reported that between the 2020 and 2024 elections support for Mr. Trump increased from 36% to 48% among Hispanics, from 8% to 15% among blacks, and from 30% to 40% among Asians.
Political conservatives have spent the past decade denouncing liberals who obsess over the racial composition of America and its institutions. They have opposed DEI policies designed to pick winners and losers based on race and ethnicity rather than merit. They have celebrated Supreme Court decisions striking down racially gerrymandered voting districts and affirmative action in college admissions. They enjoy quoting Martin Luther King and claim to champion colorblind public policies. Yet some of the same people now dump on Asian-Americans who exemplify the meritocratic ideal and share traditional American values and culture. They attack people who have overcome barriers, worked hard and embraced a system that judges people on their abilities.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first significant federal law to restrict immigration to the U.S. based on race. Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps during World War II. Chinese-Americans were lynched and denied property rights, while their children were forced to attend segregated schools. Yet for decades Asian-Americans have outperformed other groups economically and academically. Census data from 2024 showed Asian households with the highest median income in the country ($121,700), nearly $30,000 higher than white households ($92,530).
Asian-Americans have the highest marriage rates and are least likely to be single parents or engaged in violent crime. Academically, their success has been equally impressive. The most selective colleges in the country typically require an SAT score of at least 1400 for admission. According to the College Board, which administers the SAT, among students who took the test in 2024, 27% of Asian students scored 1400 or higher, compared with 7% of white students.
Asians are another example of what America still offers people of any background who put in the work and develop the skills that free-market capitalism rewards. If more of them are rejecting the identity politics of the Democratic Party, that's good for the GOP and the country, both of which could use a lot more of those UT Austin fans and fewer Bo Frenches.
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