AAPI Congressional Leaders Highlight Top Asian American Candidates Running for Congress

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, AANHPI Members of Congress including ASPIRE PAC Chair Rep. Grace Meng, CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu, and House Democratic Vice Chair Ted Lieu marked Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by highlighting three top Asian American candidates running for Congress. 

An audio recording of the full press call can be found here. A picture of the three candidates with ASPIRE Chair Meng and CAPAC Chair Chu can be found here.

Lanon Baccam (IA-03), Dave Min (CA-47), and Derek Tran (CA-45) were recently named to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program, which identifies the most competitive Democratic congressional candidates across the country. Candidates in the DCCC Red to Blue program receive strategic guidance, staff resources, training, and fundraising support to ensure they are in the best possible position to win in November.

Baccam, the son of Tai Dam refugees from Laos, is a combat veteran, public servant, and son of rural Iowa. In the wake of 9/11, Lanon answered the call to serve his country. As an Iowa National Guardsman, Lanon was activated and deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 as a combat engineer. Following his service in the Army, Lanon used the GI bill to attend Drake University, and later served in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack.

Min, the son of Korean immigrants, is the only Korean American in the California state legislature. Before joining the State Senate, Senator Min was a law professor at UC Irvine, where he taught and researched in the area of business law. He has proven himself an incredibly effective legislative leader in the California Senate, authoring 16 bills signed into law by the Governor, including leading legislation on hate crimes, gun violence prevention, and family safety.

Tran, the son of Vietnamese refugees, is an army veteran, consumer rights attorney, city commissioner, and small business owner. Derek’s parents fled the Communist regime in Vietnam so that their children could realize the American Dream. Through hard work, Derek’s family opened a corner market where Derek worked every day after school. After Derek’s time in the Army, he went to law school and then chose to open up his small business in Orange County and fight for immigrants, workers, survivors of sexual harassment, and consumers.

“As Chair of ASPIRE PAC, the campaign arm of our AANHPI Democratic caucus, I’ve been focused on electing more AANHPI Democratic candidates. We need more Asian American leaders to have a seat at the table because we are the fastest-growing community of color in the country. By supporting Asian American candidates who come from our community and understand the issues we face, Democrats can mobilize and engage the Asian American vote to win back the House in November. I’m excited to have three amazing AANHPI Red to Blue candidates running in Lanon Baccam, Dave Min, and Derek Tran. With their help, we can grow our AANHPI caucus and build a winning Democratic coalition,” said ASPIRE PAC Chair Grace Meng.

“As we celebrate the rich contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders this AANHPI Heritage Month, we are thrilled to have leaders like Lanon Baccam, Dave Min, and Derek Tran who represent the diversity of our communities. We look forward to continuing to work with all of our Red to Blue candidates to engage AANHPI voters across the country who are an essential part of the Democratic coalition and our path towards retaking the House in November,” said DCCC National AANHPI Engagement Deputy Director Sarah Lin. 

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