2026 Endorsements Are Open!
2026 is a crucial year for midterm elections. It's a chance for us to take action at the ballot box, and say Asian and BIPOC representation matters.
2026 Endorsements Are Open!
APANO Action Fund is now accepting candidate applications for city, county, state and governor races in the upcoming November 2026 primary election. Are you running for office? Learn more about our requirements, process and timeline below.
For questions or inquiries, please reach out to sam@apanoactionfund.org.
What is an endorsement?
A political endorsement is an official statement of support from an individual or organization, like APANO AF, for a particular candidate. An endorsement signifies that the candidate’s record and performance in office — or promise of future relations — greatly aligns with APANO AF’s mission and values to better serve our Asian communities.
Can community members join APANO Action Fund's Endorsement Committee?
Yes! We want your help! This is critical to ensure our community have more opportunities to engage with our staff and candidates directly in deciding if these candidates are the best leaders that will serve Asian and BIPOC communities in Oregon.
Interviews will begin the week of July 27th, 2026 with open slots until all candidates are reviewed. This is a join-as-you-are-able-to process. Our ask is a minimum 1 hour time commitment (virtual over Zoom, we will send times as early as possible). You do not have to participate in all interviews to join the endorsement committee. However, we do require committee members to read applications for each candidate they would like to interview beforehand.
Fill out our Endorsement Committee community sign-up form.
Want to get endorsed by APANO Action Fund?
Step One
Stay Informed!
Subscribe to our newsletter to get important news, event information and endorsement application announcements.
Step Two
Endorsement Application
Applications are open for city, county, state and governor candidates! Deadline is July 15, 2026.
Please note candidates are required to submit applications in two hubs:
1. Oregon Future Lab's Switchboard
2. Emailed directly to APANO Action Fund's Policy Manager at sam@apanoactionfund.org with the subject line "2026 Candidate Application."
There may be a delay in your endorsement if your application is not submitted in both hubs. Interviews will not be scheduled unless complete applications are received.
Step Three
Candidate Interview
November 2026 endorsement interviews are 45 minutes in length, held over Zoom or in-person upon request. Please notify APANO Action Fund if you would like to not be recorded.
Reminder: Interviews will NOT be scheduled until a completed application is received.
What does an interview with APANO Action Fund look like?
- We invite candidates to interview with our endorsement committee. Our endorsement committee members are APANO AF staff, board members, volunteers, partners and community members.
- Candidate’s policy vision and platform, questionnaire responses, interview and interaction with APANO AF members & staff, understanding of APANO AF’s mission, and voting record (or professional record if they have not held elected office) are considerations in our endorsement. Endorsement Committees will recommend a candidate(s) to the APANO AF C4 Board, who will ultimately decide APANO AF candidate endorsements by majority-vote.
- The evaluation is a holistic process. However, APANO AF’s evaluation strongly emphasizes the following 5 key points of focus, in no particular order: Equity Analysis, Gender/LGBTQ Analysis, Candidate Voting/Professional Track Record, Knowledge of and Commitment to Oregon’s Asian communities, Equity in Political Representation.
Step Four
Endorsement Decision!
An APANO AF endorsement for a candidate means the candidate can tell voters they have the visible support and backing of the APANO. An APANO AF endorsement may also include additional financial, communication and field resources, including but not limited to financial contributions, social media outreach, mailing, phone banks, and campaign management and volunteers.
APANO AF is a member-driven organization, and members are consistently engaged in determining the organization’s electoral fights through surveys, conversations, events, and partner interest. APANO AF considers which electoral races to work in (“Priority Races”) by using certain selection criteria:
- Elected position purview and potential ability to impact or influence Asian lives
- APANO AF members in district, concentration of Asians, and opportunity to grow base
- APANO AF issue campaign or concerns (including national) at stake in district
- APANO AF can make a difference in the race, it is a close, competitive race, opportunity for Asians to work on campaigns
- Strengthens APANO AF’s long-term capacity and growth
- We reserve the right to endorse OR not endorse in any specific race.
- We reserve the right to not endorse if a clear champion cannot be identified by our outlined criteria, or under certain circumstances, we may consider a dual endorsement.
- Completion of a candidate questionnaire does not guarantee an interview or endorsement.