A few days after their state's primary elections, Chinese-American community leaders in Maryland woke up to an email in their inboxes.
It was from Lily Qi - director of special projects for the government of Montgomery County, an affluent suburb of Washington - thanking them for their support in the reelection campaign of County Executive Ike Leggett, whose primary victory cleared the way for a third term.
"In a low turnout election like this one, every vote counts and the immigrant community holds great sway in tipping the balance," Qi said in her note. Throughout the campaign, Qi had tirelessly reached out to the Chinese-American community, which accounts for 5 percent of