Democrat Derek Tran has defeated two-term Republican U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel in a Southern California House district that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill. In a concession statement, Steel says: “Like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” When she captured the seat in 2020, Steel joined Washington state Democrat Marilyn Strickland and California's Young Kim as the first Korean-American women elected to Congress. Tran — a lawyer and the son of Vietnamese refugees — earlier declared victory.
