Grace Meng is a Taiwanese American lawyer and a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 22nd assembly district in Flushing, Queens, New York, and now she has become the First Asian-American New York has sent to Washington, Congratulations!
Democratic Assemblywoman Grace Meng has won New York’s open seat in the 6th Congressional District.
Meng squared off against Republican Councilman Dan Holloran to fill the seat that will be vacated by current U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman when he retires at the end of the year.
Meng is the first Asian-American from New York to be elected to Congress.
The newly drawn district, which stretches from Flushing to Bayside to Glendale, has both a large Asian-American population and a large white one, which made this election not only about the issues, but race as well.
Meng and Halloran’s differences were exemplified by the varying endorsements they received.
Meng was endorsed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Ed Koch. Halloran, on the other hand, received the nod from former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Meng’s victory in Queens echoes this larger trend toward representation for Asian-Americans in national politics. The redrawn 6th congressional district that Ms. Meng will represent serves a raw population that is approximately 40 percent Asian-American.