Derek Tran is doing his best to tell Vietnamese American voters in Westminster that he’s one of them.
At a recent community gathering to honor a Vietnamese historical figure, many families brought plates of food from their heritage, but one stood out: a ceremonial offering of a whole roasted pig.
That dish came with a prominent card displaying the candidate’s name.
Derek Tran gifted a whole roasted pig, traditionally an honorable offering, for this ceremony. Photo by Eddie Sun.
Tran, a Democrat, is running for Congress in California’s 45th district, which includes Westminster and Garden Grove, two cities in the heart of Orange County’s Little Saigon.
The Vietnamese community could prove crucial in Tran’s attempt to defeat Republican incumbent Michelle Steel, as well as the Democrats' efforts to shift the political makeup of the House of Representatives.
Tran is Vietnamese American himself; his parents are refugees who fled Vietnam. He’s leaning hard into that heritage, along with his military service background, revered by many Vietnamese voters.
“This district is meant for a Vietnamese American,” Tran tells KCRW. “Currently, we’re being represented by someone that doesn’t have that background and shared understanding of how hard it was for the refugees … who came to America after the Fall of Saigon.”
Derek Tran. Photo by Eddie Sun.
For some in this community, Tran’s message is landing. His supporters include Thanh Dang, who’s running as a Republican for a city council seat in Westminster.
He says he endorses Tran, despite their different political affiliations, because he values their shared identity and his background as a veteran.
“Derek stands for families, for sacrifice and serving the country,” Dang says. “Now, he’s going to bring home those values and serve our community.”
But Tran is pushing against tradition here. Historically, the Vietnamese population in Orange County has tended to vote Republican, as the party is perceived as being more patriotic, pro-military and anti-communist –– which is important to a community made up of refugees from a communist regime.
Michelle Steel, the Republican incumbent, invoked the rhetoric of anti-communism when she won this district in 2022. In that race, her campaign portrayed opponent Jay Chen, a Taiwanese American, as a communist sympathizer and labeled him as “China’s choice,” which Chen denied.
In this cycle, Steel is emphasizing her political tenure –– she has been in Congress since 2021, and spent six years on the Orange County Board of Supervisors before that –– and pitting it against Tran’s inexperience. He is running for office for the first time.
Her campaign is also touting small-government values, and doubling down on anti-communism rhetoric.
“[People here] know her. They trust her,” Lance Trover, Steel’s campaign spokesperson, told us. “She is with them on the big issues: lowering taxes, standing up to the Chinese Communist Party and fighting to lower spending.”
In 2022, Steel won this district by five percentage points, and she was favored heading into this election. However, recent polling indicates that momentum is on Tran’s side. In September, the Cook Political Index marked this race as a toss-up.