California’s 45th Congressional District garnered heavy media attention during the 2024 elections, and for good reason. It was one of the tightest races this year, and the district represents nearly 760,000 people from LA County and Orange County (OC)—the first and third most populated counties in California, respectively. By a margin of 0.21%, Democrat Derek Tran won the seat against Republican incumbent Michelle Steel. This was the third-smallest margin in the House of Representatives elections for 2024.
Early into the race, Steel was ahead, but as time passed, Tran caught up and eventually took the lead, especially when the LA County votes began to roll in. Early on, Steel led in OC votes and ended up winning 1.2% more votes than Tran. In LA County, however, Tran had 12.4% more votes than Steel. In total, Tran won by about 600 votes.
Michelle Steel was serving her second term in the House of Representatives for California’s 45th District. She was born in South Korea but raised in Japan before eventually immigrating to the United States. Before becoming a congresswoman, she was elected to the California State Board of Equalization, serving over 9 million residents. During this time, she was the highest-ranking Korean American elected to a position in America.
Like many other members of Congress, Steel has made her position very clear on today’s most polarizing issues. For example, Steel does not believe in abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother. However, she does not support a federal abortion ban and she also rescinded her initial support for federal restrictions on in vitro fertilization.
Steel is also in support of Israel in its war against Palestine. She introduced a bill that would end all funding to Palestine in 2023, saying that “this disgusting, cowardly attack on innocent Israelis and Americans must be met with the strongest possible response.”
Congressman Tran was born in San Gabriel Valley after his parents fled the communist regime in North Vietnam. At 18, he enlisted in the Army, and after his service, he went to Glendale University College of Law. He eventually opened his own practice, primarily fighting for immigrants, workers, survivors of sexual harassment, and consumers.
Regarding abortion, Tran said that he would vote to codify the federal right to an abortion and he also supports fertility treatments—a stance that, for the most part, opposed Steel. However, his stance on the war in Gaza is more neutral. In July of 2024, he made a post on Facebook supporting the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. During the 2024 race, Tran was endorsed by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
After recently taking his seat, Congressman Tran immediately began participating in 2025’s most salient issues. For example, he said that “one of my first votes in Congress was in support of the Laken Riley Act” because regardless of immigration status, he wants to ensure that all perpetrators are “held to a standard of justice under the law.” More recently, Tran urged the Trump administration to halt their efforts in blocking federal funding, asking him to “put the safety and security of the American people first.” Tran further asserted that he would do everything he could to “ensure that my constituents in CA-45 have the resources they deserve.”
Derek Tran and Michelle Steel exist on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both political leaders have empowered the Asian American community on Capitol Hill. They are among the first Asian Americans to hold such high positions of leadership, a feat that will hopefully motivate more Asians to try for political leadership. The current session—the 119th Congress—has 21 AAPI members compared to 18 from the 118th Congress, and their growing presence demonstrates the increasing political engagement and representation of Asian Americans in U.S. governance.
Visual Credit: Julianne Le, Editor-in-Chief
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