Aiming to leave an impression on the US presidential race and play the role of a “king-maker” in key states, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have launched a political action committee (PAC).

While the initial objective of the AAPI Victory Fund is to encourage Asian-Americans to register as electorates and then motivate them to come out and vote in large numbers, founding members of the PAC said on Thursday that it would also endorse a candidate as the election approaches.

“It’s time for AAPIs to expect a seat at the table,” Shekar Narasimhan, chair of the AAPI Victory Fund, said.

The six states where the AAPI Victory Fund would work, are Nevada, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, Mr Narasimhan said.

“These are the states which have made the difference in the last few presidential elections for either a Democrat or a Republican,” he said.

The population of Asian-Americans is significant enough in each of these states to make a difference “in a close race” Mr Narasimhan added.