In a closely watched congressional race in Southern California, tensions are growing between two candidates as they battle for the Asian American vote in a district President Joe Biden won by six points in 2020.

What You Need To Know

  • California's 45th district was carried by President Joe Biden in 2020 but represented by Republican Rep. Michelle Steel in Congress

  • The race between Steel and Democratic challenger Derek Tran, a political newcomer, is already heating up with barbs being thrown from both sides

  • Following an interview in which Tran suggested Steel came to America for "economic gain" rather than as many of the Vietnamese community members did as political refugees, Steel supporters are demanding an apology from Tran or "get out of the race"

  • Tran's team drew comparisons to Steel's tactics last cycle against her Democratic opponent, Jay Chen, with the ASPIRE PAC calling it "xenophobic tactics"

Nearly four dozen Asian American community leaders and organizations in California’s 45th District, which is represented by Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, have signed a letter requesting that her Democratic opponent, Derek Tran, apologize for comments he made to Punchbowl News about Steel or “get out of the race.”

Of the 45 people who signed the letter, 41 have endorsed Steel. A copy of the letter, which was written on Steel’s letterhead, was obtained by Spectrum News.

In the interview, Tran, the son of Vietnamese political refugees, suggested Steel’s background story as an immigrant would fail to resonate with voters because it’s not the same experience as many of her constituents.

“​​Michelle still tries to run on that she’s a refugee or she tried to flee communism. No, that’s not true at all,” Tran said in the interview. “She came to this country for economic gain. That’s not the same as losing one’s country after the fall of Saigon in ‘75 and having no home.”

But the letter argues that “starting a new life and working to attain a better economic state is the American Dream that so many of us or our parents have done. It’s why we are here, and why we love representing the diverse groups in our communities.” 

Tran “of all people should know and have respect for that,” they wrote.

“Spewing misleading information about Michelle’s family is no way to run for office. Her family fled Communist North Korea, moving to Seoul. From there they moved to Japan and later, after her father died, she came to America,” continues the letter. “Most disturbing, we are beyond disappointed that you insinuate that coming to America for 'economic gain' is somehow bad or wrong. This is especially offensive to the thousands of immigrants that live in CA-45 and across the country who share the same story as Michelle.”

“You owe her and the thousands of immigrants here an apology. Do what’s right and run a better campaign or get out of the race.”

Steel’s team charges it's the latest in a string of xenophobic attacks by Tran.

“Rather than lifting and celebrating first generations who work hard for their American Dream, Derek Tran is now attacking them. It should be lost on no one that this is the same Derek Tran who interviewed with a man that said Michelle Steel was ‘unintelligible’ and who gladly accepts the endorsement of Jay Chen who mocked Steel’s accent,” said Lance Trover, a spokesperson for Steel’s campaign.

California’s 45th district in the heart of Orange County is home to Little Saigon, the largest population of Vietnamese descendants outside of Vietnam itself. When the district elected Steel in 2020, she was one of the first three Korean American women to be elected to Congress. Tran, a lawyer and army veteran who co-owns a pharmacy with his wife, has painted Steel as out of touch with the district and cozy with former President Donald Trump.

A spokesperson for Tran doubled down on the contrast between the political newcomer and the two-term incumbent when contacted by Spectrum News.

“Derek Tran’s family fled communism, Michelle Steel’s family sells access to Chinese Communist Officials as reported by the Wall Street Journal and Orange County Register,” said campaign spokesperson Orrin Evans. 

The campaign also directed Spectrum News to a 2017 article from the Wall Street Journal that linked Steel’s husband Shawn Steel, a Republican National Committee member, to an effort by Chinese foreign nationals to influence then-President Donald Trump. (Steel told the Wall Street Journal at the time it would be “false, defamatory, and offensive” to say he aided any Chinese efforts.)

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus’ ASPIRE PAC, which has endorsed Tran, went even further — arguing this is similar to the attacks Steel made against her 2022 opponent, Jay Chen, and that she is the one using “xenophobic tactics.”

“Steel has no business lecturing anyone — especially the son of Vietnamese refugees and a veteran of the United States Army — after she and her allies spent millions of dollars launching straight-up racist attacks at her political opponents of Asian descent — going as far as to invoke xenophobic propaganda in her campaign ads to sully the name of a respected Taiwanese American veteran and sow fear among voters in Orange County,” said ASPIRE PAC Executive Director Nic Jordan. “Her xenophobic tactics caused outrage from AAPI groups and AAPI elected officials alike, and residents in the Vietnamese community of Little Saigon — and Derek, a veteran and the son of refugees, won't stand for her baseless attacks any longer.”

At the time, the Asian Americans for Good Government PAC announced it was pulling it's endorsement of Steel over the attack on Chen. But Steel's campaign says the PAC had never endorsed Steel in the first place.

According to data from the California Secretary of State’s office, 36.9% of voters in the district identified as Democrats ahead of the March primary. Another 33.3% of registered voters are Republicans, and 23.8% belong to no party. President Joe Biden carried the district in 2020 — one of 18 around the country that supported Biden but elected a Republican to Congress.

Although there are more Democrats in the district than Republicans, the election in November likely will come down to independent voters. Ousting Steel will not be an easy task, with the California GOP machine behind her. As of the latest campaign finance filings, Steel enjoyed a massive $3 million cash-on-hand advantage over Tran. The Democratic newcomer’s campaign reported just under $200,000 on hand at the end of March after a brutal primary that Tran won by a very slim margin over Garden Grove City Councilmember Kim Nguyen-Penaloza.

But Tran has been optimistic about his chances in beating Steel in November, telling Spectrum News last month: “I think the clear contrast between Michelle Steel and myself is the fact that it boils down to selflessness…I enlisted in the military at 18 to serve my country, and I wanted to give back to my country. And in a lot of ways, this run for Congress is that — is giving back to my country.”

Whether that message resonates with voters remains to be seen — but with five months to go until Election Day, this may just be the beginning of such barbs being thrown between these candidates.

This story has been updated with context about the lack of official endorsement for Steel from the Asian Americans for Good Government PAC before the PAC announced it was pulling its endorsement in 2022.