I'm Ailsa Chang in Culver City, Calif., which is a state that's usually pretty predictable during election season - but this year, there are several competitive House races happening in Orange County, which has been a Republican stronghold for nearly a century, but has veered left in recent decades. One force behind that shift is the county's growing share of Asian American voters. Nationwide, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group. And while it is an ethnically diverse group of voters, nearly two-thirds of them voted Democrat in the last two elections. But now, in these midterm elections, Democrats are worried that some of that recent Asian American support could erode, which could make all the difference in close races, like California's 45th District. The campaign for the Democratic candidate in this race is unfolding on the second floor of a strip mall, right above a pho restaurant in the heart of Orange County.

KARTHICK RAMAKRISHNAN: Over time, the Republican Party lost its way in terms of not investing enough in the growing Asian American population and diversifying Asian American population in Orange County.

CHANG: Karthick Ramakrishnan is a professor at UC Riverside, and he directs the National Asian American Survey. He says this movement of Asian American voters away from the Republican Party - it's been happening all over this country in recent decades.

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