Abercrombie, an Obama supporter, chalked part of Clinton’s strength among Asian Americans to mail-in voting, which had been taking place for weeks before Tuesday.

Asian Americans who voted in January, when California primary voting began, were likely to know more about Clinton than Obama, and recall the things she and her husband did with the Asian American community in the 1990s.

Abercrombie said that the more Asian Americans get to know more about Obama’s story, as the son of an immigrant who grew up in Hawaii and who values his family, the more they’ll be likely to vote for him.

Some members of Congress, however, suggest Clinton has an edge because she has been on the national stage for so long, and as a result Asian Americans are more familiar with her.

Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) recalled meeting President Bill Clinton with other Asian American leaders when she was her state’s lieutenant governor. Asian American “voters may be older, and [Hillary Rodham Clinton] does well among older people,” she said. “They have a familiarity with her.”

Honda said Asian Americans have been overlooked in a campaign so far that has sometimes focused on whom black and Hispanic voters will support. Honda said neither the candidates nor the media have sufficiently addressed issues important to a potential swing demographic.

“It’s just that they’ve got to understand [they have to] mention our community,” said Honda, who hasn’t endorsed a candidate. “When you hear people mention your community in a public debate, you all of a sudden exist in the minds of people, the media, the campaign, the candidates.”

He said that he’s heard Obama and Clinton mention the Asian Americans only once each during debates. Media coverage hasn’t helped either, Honda said; when CNN broke down the votes of Californians on Super Tuesday, it showed votes by whites, blacks, Latinos and “all other races,” instead of Asian Americans, he noted.

Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) also said Asian Americans have generally been overlooked by the candidates. He said he endorsed Howard Dean for president in 2004 because he was the one candidate to attend a town-hall meeting in Washington D.C. on Asian American issues.

“I hope that whoever becomes president makes appointments to cabinet and subcabinet positions to all executive branches, makes appointments to the judiciary, makes appointments that reflect the multi-varied heritage that is America,” he said.

Honda said he doesn’t plan to endorse a candidate as a DNC vice chairman. But he reminded Obama after the debate in Los Angeles last month that his sister is half-Asian American, hoping it would prompt him to address Asian American issues more in high-profile events.

“We as a community have to also tell them, ‘We’re Asian Americans,’” Honda said. “When we say that forthrightly, and not be polite and subtle, then they’ll remember.”