{"id":2269383,"date":"2024-06-17T09:07:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T13:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voters-in-republican-held-california-house-district-to-decide-between-incumbent-or-democratic-newcomer\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T09:10:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T13:10:46","slug":"voters-in-republican-held-california-house-district-to-decide-between-incumbent-or-democratic-newcomer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voters-in-republican-held-california-house-district-to-decide-between-incumbent-or-democratic-newcomer\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters in a Republican-controlled California House district will choose between the incumbent and a Democratic newcomer"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvoters-in-republican-held-california-house-district-to-decide-between-incumbent-or-democratic-newcomer%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2269383&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In California&#8217;s 45th Congressional District, which \u2063has historically swung between parties, voters face a choice between re-electing\u200c Republican Representative Michelle Steel and supporting a new Democratic candidate, \u2062Derek Tran. This \u200ddistrict, which encompasses \u2062parts of Orange and Los Angeles counties, voted\u200d for Joe\u200c Biden\u2062 in 2020 but\u2063 chose \u200bSteel\u2064 in the\u2063 2022 midterms. Following redistricting, \u200bthe district now presents\u2063 an \u200bequal demographic of Asian American and white voters, with a larger \u200cpercentage\u2063 of registered Democrats than Republicans. This shift has \u200bmade the district a target for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee&#8217;s &#8220;Red to Blue&#8221; program, aiming \u2063to flip\u200b Republican-held seats.<\/p>\n<p>Michelle \u2063Steel, originally representing the \u200c48th District, \u2062was elected to the newly mapped\u200b 45th District in a close\u2064 race against former Democratic Representative Harley Rouda.\u2062 Steel has\u200c a \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-feud-with-iowas-governor-tests-his-lead-in-crucial-caucuses\/\" title=\"Trump's clash with Iowa's governor challenges his advantage in vital caucuses.\">strong conservative record<\/a> in Congress, with\u2062 notable votes against the Equality Act and the\u200c Respect\u2064 for Marriage Act, \u2062and \u2063has \u2063co-sponsored legislation reflecting a traditional \u200dstance on life \u2062beginning at conception.<\/p>\n<p>Derek Tran, Steel&#8217;s challenger, is part of an \u2063effort to\u200b appeal to \u200bthe \u200ddistrict&#8217;s large \u200dVietnamese\u2064 voter base, which leans Republican. Both candidates\u2063 are of Asian \u2064descent, with Steel being\u200d Korean and Tran Vietnamese, adding a unique dynamic to the \u2064electoral context influenced by cultural and demographic \u2062shifts within\u200c the district.<\/p>\n<p>The race epitomizes the political balances and demographic changes influencing voter decisions in\u200d a closely watched electoral battleground, reflecting broader national\u200d trends in\u200d competitive districts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Voters in a Southern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"California\">California<\/a> district with a history of casting ballots for both parties will be faced with the option of giving Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) another term or a Democratic newcomer a chance.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>California\u2019s 45th Congressional District, which has undergone redistricting in recent years, voted for President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joe Biden\">Joe Biden<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2020-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"2020 presidential election\">2020 presidential election<\/a> but went for Steel during the 2022 midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican congresswoman, who has been in Congress since 2021, was moved to the 45th District from the 48th due to the state\u2019s redistricting and won her seat by 4.8 percentage points. As she seeks another term in the House, she faces Democratic challenger Derek Tran, an untested Democratic candidate who is hoping to unseat Steel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The 45th District, which went for Biden by 6 points in 2020, comprises Orange County cities and a bit of Los Angeles County. The seat is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2943438\/dccc-adds-four-candidates-red-to-blue-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"already being targeted\">already being targeted<\/a> by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for its \u201cRed to Blue\u201d program, which seeks to flip Republican-held seats to retake the House majority.<\/p>\n<h2>Redistricting plays a role<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p>Since the district was redrawn, it now comprises equal parts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/04\/16\/house-control-could-hinge-california-democrats-00150229\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Asian American and white <\/a>voters and has more registered Democrats than Republicans, with 36.9% registered with the Democratic Party, 33.3% with the Republican Party, and 23.8% with no party preference, according to data from the secretary of state in California.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 2020 lines have changed, and the 45th Congressional District now has the largest population of Vietnamese voters in the country,\u201d Orrin Evans, spokesman for Tran\u2019s campaign, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Vietnamese Americans are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2023\/07\/03\/vietnamese-republican-democrat-politics-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>the most Republican-leaning<\/a> Asian population in the United States. Members of the voting bloc are very averse to signs of socialism or communism due to communists leading their home country and remnants of the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n<p>This area, or \u201cLittle Saigon,\u201d is home to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2024\/03\/25\/in-ca-45-race-rep-michelle-steel-and-derek-tran-will-face-off-in-november\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>largest population<\/a> of Vietnamese people living outside of Vietnam. <\/p>\n<p>Both candidates are Asian American, with Steel being Korean and Tran being Vietnamese.<\/p>\n<p>Former Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda flipped the seat as he rode the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2018\/11\/13\/18082490\/blue-wave\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>blue wave <\/a>in the House in 2018 in what was previously California\u2019s 48th Congressional District. Before Rouda, Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher represented it for about three decades through a few rounds of redistricting but relatively represented the same area. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know how many people thought [Steel] could win after [former Rep.] Dana Rohrabacher actually lost that same congressional seat by 21,000 votes,\u201d Sam Oh, a campaign strategist for Steel\u2019s campaign, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<h2>Steel\u2019s conservative record<\/h2>\n<p>She got into politics after a discrepancy between a government agency and her mother\u2019s business.<\/p>\n<p>Her father worked as a diplomat in Japan before the family immigrated from South Korea to the U.S. Here, her mother, who did not speak much English, owned a business that was cited by a city agency for something Steel believed was false, Steel\u2019s campaign told the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Steel, who was learning English in school at the time, was able to fight the citation successfully on behalf of her mother\u2019s business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe got into public service because that always stuck with her,\u201d Oh said.\u00a0Steel got started in local politics in Orange County, holding various positions in local government\u00a0before deciding to run in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, Steel flipped the newly drawn, Asian-heavy district red, beating Rouda by only 1 percentage point, or about 7,000 more votes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is very much of the opinion government should work for the people that it represents,\u201d Oh said.<\/p>\n<p>In the House, Steel has a strong conservative record. Some of her voting history includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.metroweekly.com\/2021\/02\/for-shame-heres-every-republican-who-voted-against-the-equality-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>voting against<\/a> the Equality Act, which would have prohibited discrimination based on one\u2019s sexual identity or orientation. She also <a href=\"https:\/\/katiecouric.com\/news\/politics-and-policy\/which-republicans-voted-against-respect-for-marriage-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>voted against<\/a> the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed and requires the government to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Steel co-sponsored <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/house-bill\/431\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>legislation<\/a> that would have said life was guaranteed by the Constitution \u201cat all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>This bill did not include protections for in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ai-babies-are-a-thing-and-theyre-raising-major-ethical-questions\/\" title=\"'AI Babies' Exist, Prompting Ethical Concerns\">vitro fertilization treatments<\/a>, unlike the Senate versions. She switched her stance in 2024 after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling created chaos over protections for IVF treatment, saying, \u201cI do not support federal restrictions on IVF.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>She also voted against the $1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-addition-to-a-bridge-you-need-a-babysitter-aoc-wants-an-infrastructure-bill-very-centered-upon-women\/\" title=\"\u2018In Addition To A Bridge, You Need A Babysitter\u2019: AOC Wants An Infrastructure Bill \u2018Very Centered Upon Women\u2019\">2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill<\/a> in 2021 but ended up <a href=\"https:\/\/steel.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/steel-statement-army-corps-engineers-14-billion-work-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>taking some credit<\/a> for the funding that went back to her district, saying, \u201cThis funding for the dredging Newport Beach Harbor is long overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steel\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-a-dnc-scheduling-error-could-mean-biden-wont-be-on-alabamas-ballot-in-november\/\" title=\"A DNC scheduling mistake might lead to Biden missing from Alabama's November ballot\">campaign remained firm<\/a> that \u201ca lot of the stuff that she talks about is centered around commonsense solutions about issues that matter to the average voter.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe wants people to feel safe. She wants families to be safe,\u201d Oh said.<\/p>\n<h2>A new challenger<\/h2>\n<p>In 2022, Steel defeated Democrat Jay Chen, 52.4% to 47.6%.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Tran is seeking to represent the largely Vietnamese district, hoping his heritage will help him swing voters to his side in November. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek\u2019s life has been one of service to his country, the country that welcomed his parents as refugees fleeing Communism,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3030500\/democrats-appear-competitive-safe-republican-california-district-poll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>a recent poll<\/a> conducted by a pollster with ties to the DCCC, Tran is in a good place to challenge Steel. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/spectrumlocalnews.com\/nc\/coastal\/politics\/2024\/06\/05\/tensions-grow-in-orange-county-congressional-race\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>Cook Political Report<\/em><\/a>  labels the district as \u201cLeans Republican.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Still, Evans believes Tran is \u201cuniquely positioned to flip this seat.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tran has a background in law and military service but does not have many policy-driven stances.\u00a0Tran \u201cis 100% pro-choice,\u201d according to his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.derektranforcongress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>campaign website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tran\u2019s campaign told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that abortion will be one of the matters he is focused on, contrasting Steel\u2019s record on abortion and saying Steel has \u201cconsistently\u201d advocated \u201cextreme policies\u201d on the topic of IVF protections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDerek\u2019s story of being the son of Vietnamese refugees fleeing communism, enrolling the Army while still in High School, fighting corporate special interests as a worker rights attorney and the costs of prescription drugs as a local pharmacy owner resonate deeply with this electorate,\u201d Evans said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Voters in California&#8217;s 45th Congressional District, a swing area with a history of bipartisan support, must decide between re-electing Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) or opting for a Democratic newcomer. The district, recently redrawn, supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2269384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/california.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/california.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2269383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2269384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2269383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2269383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2269383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}