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WASHINGTON -- Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton courted Asian American support at last month’s Democratic Leadership's Asian American and Pacific Islander Town Hall meeting held at the US Capitol. The event, one of the activities marking Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, marked Clinton’s push to gain the minority vote.

      Clinton pledged her dedication to minority communities and their issues, such as comprehensive immigration reform and disparity in health care.

      “You are certainly not invisible to me and you are certainly not invisible to the next president,” said Clinton, amid cheers.

      Clinton also took the time to name US Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento, CA) as her national campaign co-chair and the national chair of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), an initiative to organize and mobilize supporters.

      “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a huge opportunity to make a difference in this election,” said Matsui. “Hillary Clinton has been a consistent champion and friend of the AAPI…I look forward to leading the charge to help make Hillary the candidate of choice for AAPI voters.”

      According to the Census Bureau, the AAPI community is the fastest growing ethnic group in the country. Although Asians represent five percent of the nation’s total population, AAPIs have a higher voter turnout. Matsui’s support may help Clinton gain votes in California, a primary state with the largest population of Asian Americans.

      Clinton also set up camp in Hawaii, New York and Florida, and tapped “ethnic co-chairs” to target the Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and South Asian populations nationwide.

      Regional business leaders and other government officials, such as New York City Councilmember John Liu and New Vista Asset Management CEO Jim Park, also announced their support through fundraising and grassroots activities.

      “I will reach out to major Korean communities and put on public forums to help people understand Hillary Clinton’s core issues, such as small businesses and immigration,” Park said.

      Clinton’s strategic campaigning comes in contrast to her staff’s treatment of the ethnic media in March. Her camp faced criticism for excluding Sing Tao Daily, World Journal and China Press, three of the largest Chinese-language newspapers in San Francisco, from a fundraising campaign in the Bay Area. A Clinton staffer considered the papers as “foreign media,” and denied reporters access to the event.

      A month later, Clinton apologized for the highly publicized gaffe and held a special media event for the Asian American papers in San Francisco. Clinton said she recognizes the importance of the Asian American voters, and recently hired Jin Chon as the press secretary for specialty media. Chon is the first Korean on Clinton’s press team.

      “We’re not taking any vote for granted, and I want the AAPI community to know that I hope to earn their vote,” she said.