Representative Michelle Steel won election to a second term, defeating Jay Chen, a Democrat, after she decided to run in a new district in Orange County.
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Representative Michelle Steel of California during a campaign event in Buena Park, Calif., in June.
Representative Michelle Steel, Republican of California, has won election to a second term in Orange County, according to The Associated Press.
Ms. Steel held off Jay Chen, a Democrat and Taiwanese American Navy reservist, even after deciding to run in a new district that tilted slightly toward Democrats.
The race become something of a test for how Asian American voters would cast their ballots in a race that pitted two of their own — with sharply contrasting political views — against each other in an area where they represent a lopsided majority of the electorate.
Ms. Steel, a former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and a local business owner, became one of first Korean American women in Congress when she was elected in 2020, narrowly unseating Representative Harley Rouda, a Democrat. Ms. Steel led Mr. Chen by five percentage points in the state’s open primary election, which is open to candidates of any party.
While in Congress, Ms. Steel has voted largely along party lines. She campaigned on lowering taxes, improving the economy and securing the border. She also painted Mr. Chen as sympathetic to China’s authoritarian government, working to appeal to the county’s many Vietnamese refugees who still have bitter memories of fleeing a communist regime, a portrayal that drew criticism that she was “red-baiting.”
Mr. Chen, for his part, was criticized for mocking Ms. Steel’s accent.
Source: nytimes.com
