ARLINGTON, VA. (November 20, 2006) – Campaign officials inside the Jim Webb Senate campaign have credited a diverse grassroots organization called Real Virginians For Webb with galvanizing Asian American voters to lift their candidate to victory. Today, Real Virginians For Webb has announced the formation of a new national organization called Real Americans For Democracy.

A poll by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund suggested that 76 percent of Asian American Virginians voted for Webb, who won the race by just three-tenths of a percent of the total vote. According to CNN exit polls, Asian Americans accounted for 3% of the total vote (71,000) and 68% voted for Webb. The unprecedented involvement of Asian Americans in this election was due in large part to a grassroots volunteer organization called Real Virginians For Webb, led a by a small group of political newcomers, including two Asian American filmmakers with roots in the D.C. Metro area.

Eric Byler (Charlotte Sometimes, Americanese) recruited Annabel Park to return with him to his home state to help mobilize support on both a local and national level. Once in Virginia, Byler and Park joined forces with other volunteers, including Tuy Le, who was spearheading Vietnamese American outreach, and Wasim Entabi, who was spearheading Arab American Outreach, to form Real Virginians For Webb.

“We were determined to give Asian Americans a voice in this election and without funding, we got creative in our approach,” said Park.

With no formal connection to the Webb campaign, it may have been the group's Internet campaign that spiked broadest awareness: In addition to launching a MySpace page (www.myspace.com/realvirginiansforwebb) and outreaching to progressive bloggers both within and outside of the Asian American community, Byler and Park began creating a series of mini-documentaries on the campaign, collectively seen by more than 40,000 viewers on YouTube.

The videos included interviews with Le, Entabi, and other volunteers within the organization; a funny, frank, and moving profile of Webb's Vietnamese American wife, Hong Le Webb; and a polished video endorsement from actor Daniel Dae Kim (of ABC's hit "Lost") which was seen by more than 10,000 people and quoted on radio news programs chronicling the group’s efforts.

"The turning point in this campaign came about because of an Asian American with a camera," said Byler, noting that the infamous "macaca" remark occurred when incumbent George Allen singled out S.R. Sidarth, a Webb volunteer filming Allen's public events, and welcomed him to America and "the Real World of Virginia."