NewsDemocrat Derek Tran unseats GOP Michelle Steel in razor-thin Orange County House...

Democrat Derek Tran unseats GOP Michelle Steel in razor-thin Orange County House race

Democrat Derek Tran has defeated Republican incumbent Michelle Steel for a House seat representing California’s Orange County and Los Angeles, NBC News projects, after a contentious race that centered on the candidates’ Asian American identities and use of aggressive anti-China messaging.  

Tran, an Army veteran, narrowly won in a race that came down to just a few hundred votes. His victory over Steel flips the 45th Congressional District blue, making it one of two districts to do so in a state that has largely shifted right.

The results come after an expensive race, with more than $34 million spent in the district, according to OpenSecrets, an organization that tracks spending in politics. Tran has performed better with voters in Los Angeles County, where he has had a significant lead over Steel. But the race is tighter in Orange County, the bulk of the district, where voters have repeatedly flipped between red and blue over the past election cycles. 

Throughout their campaigns, Tran and Steel aggressively courted Asian Americans, who make up 39% of the population as the largest racial demographic in the area. The pair have opened up about their own backgrounds in an effort to cast themselves as the best representatives of the group. 

Steel, 69, who in 2020 became one of the first three Korean American women elected to Congress, immigrated to the U.S. in her early 20s, opening a clothing store with her family. She previously served as a supervisor and chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors before running for Congress. 

“From the moment I came to the United States, I knew that giving back to the country that welcomed me with open arms would be part of my future,” Steel said in a post to X on Wednesday. “The journey to work on behalf of legal immigrants and struggling families took me somewhere I never could have imagined — and for which I will always be grateful — the United States Congress.”

“I owe a debt of gratitude to my supporters, my staff, my family, my daughters and especially my husband, Shawn, for standing by me through endless campaigns. To my volunteers, we would never have made it this far without your tireless efforts,” she continued. “And, to the voters, thank you.”

Tran, 44, the son of Vietnamese refugees, is a newcomer to running for public office. After serving in the military, Tran worked as a consumer rights attorney and currently sits on the board of the Consumer Attorneys of California. 

Tran’s Vietnamese heritage has been a large focus of his campaign in a race in which both candidates are vying for the Vietnamese electorate, the largest Asian ethnicity in Orange County. Steel said in an October interview with VietFace TV that she is “more Vietnamese than my opponent.”

“My opponent might have a Vietnamese name, but I understand the Vietnamese community,” Steel said. 

Tran described the comments as “deplorable and insulting to our entire Vietnamese-American community.” 

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