5 Vietnamese American candidates compete for California’s 45th Congressional District seat

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made District 45 one of its earliest 2026 targets, running multilingual print ads in Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean community papers.

Image via Derek Tran

An almost entirely Vietnamese American field of candidates is competing for California’s 45th Congressional District seat, anchored by Orange County’s Little Saigon.

A reshaped district

Democrat Derek Tran, 45, won the seat in 2024 by 653 votes over two-time incumbent Michelle Steel, becoming the first Vietnamese American to represent …