Congressional District 45's Asian vs. Asian race divides AANHPI community

ANALYSIS

Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, a Korean American, has apparently won the seat for Congressional District 45 in Southern California by running one of the nastiest and hate-filled campaigns in the country against her opponent, Taiwanese American Jay Chen.

A week after voters went to the polls, Steel has 53.8% of the vote to Chen's 46.2%. While the counting of votes is continuing, Steel's lead of about 13,000 votes was enough for the Associated Press Tuesday morning to call the race in Steel's favor.

“I am humbled that voters have given me the opportunity to continue to fight for them in Washington, DC,” Steel said in a statement, according to the Orange County Register. “I have been firm in my commitment to deliver for working class families, and will continue to work to lower taxes, stop inflation, and stand up to Communist China.”

The last reference to "Communist China" typified the Steel campaign strategy which grew relentless in the later weeks of the campaign.

District 45 includes a large portion of Orange County, home of large AANHPI communities, that make up about 37% of the district. This district runs from Brea and Fullerton in north Orange County, out east to “Little India” in Artesia, before heading south to the center of the region’s political gravity in Westminster and Garden Grove — Little Saigon, reportedly the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam. White voters make up about a third of residents.

Steel, a Korean American immigrant, was criticized for running one of the nastiest campaigns in the country by trying to link Chen to the Chinese Communist Party, a Red Scare tactic that apparently played well in the Vietnamese American community, mostly refugees who fled South Vietnam when it fell to North Vietnam.

Chen's grandparents fled communist China to Taiwan. Chen's parents immigrated to the US, where he was raised. He countered the hit pieces with his military record as a US Navy veteran. Veteran groups rallied to his side as did many Chinese American organizations, who feared that Steel's tactic would stir up the "perpetual foreigner" trope, adding fuel to the current spate of attacks against Asian Americans.

While Chen tried attacking Steel for her support for Trump policies and her votes against the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure and the anti-Asian Hate resolution and her support for the Supreme Court's tossing of abortion rights for women, Steel's red-baiting was enough to overcome her voting record.

One of the worst and offensive ads appeared on YouTube showing Chinese men with accents giggling in glee that Jay Chen could get elected with a picture of the Chinese leader posted behind them.

In the weeks before Nov. 8, Red and yellow poster (colors from the PRC's flag) bagan sprouting up throughout the lampposts and fences throughout the district, saying "China's Choice: Jay Chen" and little letters below, "Paid for by Michelle Steel Campaign."

Democratic Asian American lawmakers from neighboring districts like Representatives Mark Takano, Ted Lieu and Judy Chu made appearances on Chen's behalf while GOP House Minority Leader and possibly future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy campaigned for Steel.

Surprisingly absent from the race was the presence of politically active Hollywood celebrities. Their absence is noticeable only because of the proximity of the district to the entertainment capitol, minutes away by freeway. In close races, such as in CD45, every vote counts. Their participation may have swayed young people into voting.

Steel has avoided media events such as public debates or candidate forums. Linking Steel to Trump has been difficult for Chen. Besides McCarthy, no other big-name Republican came to the district on Steel's behalf.

With the AANHPI communities divided between the candidates, other groups may have played an more decisive role in the determining CD45's outcomes.

Orange County has long been a Republican stronghold, an island of conservatism in the Blue sea of the Los Angeles metro region. The Orange County Register endorsed Steel, but the more liberal Los Angeles Times, recommended Chen.

The conservative tradition of Congressional District 45, which encompasses portions of Los Angeles and Orange counties and once the home of the KKK chapter in Southern California, is still a strong element in the district and perhaps tipped the electoral scales towards Steel, whose husband holds a prominent position in California's Republican Party.

What did matter was funding. Steel's campaign collected millions of dollars from the GOP and dark money from conservative PACs, outspending Chen. 

A total of $13.3 million has been invested in this race, $11.4 million raised by the candidates themselves and $1.9 million spent by "independent expenditures." Independent expenditures are when companies and organizations spend to support or oppose candidates but are not connected to the candidates' camapaigns. There are no spending limits.

Steel raised $6.7 million, spent $5.8 million, and had about $1 million on hand, as of October 19, according to OpenSecrets. Chen, raised $4.5 million, spent $4.2 million, and had about $429,000 cash on hand.

The biggest PAC donation was by the conservative Congressional Leadership Fund which gave Steel about $3.3 million, according to OpenSecrets.

One of the positives that may have come out of this race was to show to the political parties how diverse are the groups that fall under the Asian American umbrella term. Vietnamese, because of their history, trend towards the Republicans in contrast to the other AANHPI groups. Korean, Filipino Americans and Pacific Islanders may have conservative religious views on abortion but fall in line with Democrats in support of affirmative action and health care access. Small business owners in the AANHPI communities may be concerned about economic issues, but they support abortion rights and gun control.

According to several polls by the Pew Research Center, the Carnegie Endowment and APAI Vote, AANHPI are politically savvy and enthusiastic about voting but the major parties need to increase outreach to them and not take them for granted.

There is still a strong tendency to support Democratic policies but there is also a small, but growing movement to the right by some of the recent immigrants in contrast to more established AANHIP communities.

All this to say, the increasingly influential AANHPI communities can influence political outcomes in certain key regions and states. They will register to vote. They will come out and vote, but the Democrats and Republicans need to reach out to them where they live, not in a patronizing manner and in the more than two dozen languages they understand. 

That's no easy task with the 2024 campaign only two years away.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a developing story. Check back later for updates. For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.