Today, AAPI New Jersey (AAPI NJ) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) released the results of the nonpartisan, multilingual Asian American Exit Poll for the 2025 New Jersey gubernatorial elections, reporting that 82% of Asian American respondents voted for Democrat Mikie Sherrill vs. 18% for Republican Jack Ciattarelli. The cost of living, economy/jobs, and democracy were the top issues influencing the votes of Asian Americans in this election. Notably, the exit poll also found that 31% of Asian American voters who identified as Republicans voted for Sherrill for governor.
“As 11% of New Jerseyans and the state’s fastest-growing demographic, our state’s over 1 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are neglected by politicians at their peril or can be invested in to their benefit,” said Amber Reed, Co-Executive Director of AAPI New Jersey. “These nonpartisan exit poll results are an important window into our diverse communities’ priorities and concerns.”
“This all starts with community engagement,” said Marlena Truong, voting rights advocate at AALDEF. “Thanks to AAPI New Jersey, campaigns, elected officials, and community advocates have a better idea of what truly matters to New Jersey’s diverse Asian communities. It is this direct information that will drive AALDEF’s future advocacy around voting rights, immigrants rights, and economic justice in the state.”
75 volunteers spoke to 523 Asian American voters after they exited poll sites in Fort Lee, Palisades Park, Jersey City, Paterson, and Edison–five communities with high concentrations of Asian American voters.
The poll was administered in English and Bengali, Korean, Hindi, Gujarati, and Arabic.
In addition to conducting the exit poll, AAPI NJ also monitored poll sites for compliance with relevant voting rights laws.
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE 2025 NEW JERSEY ASIAN AMERICAN EXIT POLL
Asian American Voters Overwhelmingly Favored Sherrill for Governor–including 31% of Republicans
Over four-fifths (82%) of Asian American voters who participated in the exit poll voted for Sherrill and under one-fifth (18%) voted for Ciattarelli. Notably, the percentage of Asian American voters voting for Sherrill rose to 95% in Jersey City and Paterson, and was lowest (72%) in Palisades Park. In Edison, 79% of Asian Americans reported voting for Sherrill, while in Fort Lee, 77% of Asian American respondents voted for Sherrill.
Among Asian American voters identifying as Democrats, 95% voted for Sherrill and 5% for Ciattarelli. Among Asian American voters identifying as Republicans, however, only 69% voted for Ciattarelli, their party’s candidate, with 31% voting for Sherrill.
Cost of Living was the Most Important Issue for Asian American Voters in this Election
The cost of living and economy, including jobs, were by far the top factors influencing the votes of Asian Americans in our exit poll, with both issues identified by roughly 40% of Asian American voters who participated in the poll as a top issue informing their vote in this election.
The third most important issue was democracy (selected by 30% of Asian American voters), followed closely by healthcare (28%), education (25%), abortion (22%), taxes (20%), and immigration (19%).
Importantly, respondents in our exit poll could select multiple factors that influenced their vote, up to a maximum of 17, as well as a write-in option.
Asian American Youth Vote Surged in this Election
While 9% of Asian Americans polled were first-time voters in this election, this figure nearly doubled to 17% among respondents ages 18 to 29.
Asian American Voters Demonstrated Diverse Views
Asian American voters are not a monolith, and there were meaningful variations in support among different demographics. By gender, for example, 24% of Asian American men voted for Ciattarelli, vs. just 13% of Asian American women. Disaggregating by country of origin, Korean Americans supported Ciattarelli at the highest levels (26%), followed by Indian Americans (19%) and Chinese Americans (17%). Ciattarelli found only single-digit support among Bangladeshi American (5%) and Filipino American (7%) voters, respectively, while only 11% of Pakistani voters selected Ciattarelli.
Sherrill found particularly strong support among Asian American youth voters, with 94% of Asian American voters ages 18-29 casting votes for Sherrill. Even among Asian American voters aged 70+, however, Sherrill’s support was a strong 65%.
