Battle Ground Wisconsin: Deciding the Hmong Vote

 By: Vanessa Kjeldsen 

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV)- At Hmong Kitchen in Madison, the busy behind-the-counter staff calls out order numbers, placing Styrofoam to-go containers in tightly tied bags on the counter.

“I grew up here, so I know all the people, the ups and downs of Hmong community here,” Zang Vang said from a cafeteria booth in the food hall that houses the kitchen.

The Hmong population is the largest Asian racial-ethnic group in Wisconsin. While the census estimates about 60,000 Hmong residents live in the state, with Wisconsin’s razor-thin presidential election margins hovering around only 20,000 votes, the Hmong population is nearly triple that margin and could decide the election.

Vang is the co-owner of the restaurant with his wife. As a community organizer, he has watched the Hmong population grow first-hand.

“Back in the 80s, we know everybody, but still, right now, we know, I would say about 90% of their Hmong community,” Vang said. “We’re very close each other.”

However, when it comes to voting, Vang said there’s a generational divide within the community.

“A lot of people, older people, don’t know how to vote,” Vang said. “If they go, they have to have, like me going with them as an interpreter.”

The younger generations are getting more involved in American politics, Vang explained.

There are plenty of young people in the community, with a median age of 25.6 years, compared to Wisconsin’s 39.6 years old, according to the UW Applied Population Laboratory 2020 report.

Seventy percent of Hmong voters did not identify as a Democrat or a Republican, in a 2016 post-election National Asian American survey. Instead, opting to write they did not know which party to identify with, did not think in terms of political parties or were Independents.

“I think, like 20-30, years ago, I could not name a person in politics,” Vang said.

Now more involved, Vang wishes outsiders would learn more about the community.

 “All the campaigns, I think they don’t know enough about Hmong people,” Vang said.

This November, Vang, who puts the economy as his top issue, will be voting for Harris. Donald Trump has been in office once already, Vang explained.

When asked why Harris was a better option, Vang responded, “Well, I mean, first of all, she’s a woman.”

Vang was not always decided, however. The first presidential debate “really changed” his mind.

“I was kind of skeptical about her,” Vang said. Then during the debate, when, “Donald Trump was saying like they eating the cat, eating the dog... is it really necessary to talk about that?,” Vang reflected, adding “[Trump] will say anything he wants to get elected.”

While at Hmong Kitchen, Vang introduced us to two other regulars.

“I like both [candidates],” Uranan Thl said. “It’s tough. I haven’t decided yet.”

Thl typically waits until Election Day to make his decision, and plans to do the same this year, he said. He considers himself somewhat of a Democrat and an Independent.

Thl also agrees with Vang that there are generational divides.

“My parents, my grandparents and them,” Thl said, “it’s different because in the Hmong community, we have our own way of running politics.”

Deenee Thao, another lunch goer is also not completely decided yet.

“It’s a hard choice. I’m more of a Democrat,” Thl said. “I think America is not ready for a female president, that’s how I feel, but who knows, she could be the first in history.”

Decided or not, all three agree that voting is a crucial right.

“Growing up as a kid, a refugee,” Vang said, “People tell me, ‘Hey, go back to your country.’ But I say, ‘Hey, I don‘t have a country.’”

Vang, describing his heart and mind as American, calls this country home.

“Hmong are here to stay in America, and we’re here to vote,” Vang said.

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