District: CA-45
Cook Political Ranking: Lean D
Performance Voter Index: D+3
Rep. Tran was elected to Congress to represent California’s 45th district in 2024. Tran is the first Vietnamese American to represent this seat. Before Congress, Tran served in the US Army, owned a small business, and practiced consumer rights law.

California’s 45th Congressional District is based in Orange and Los Angeles counties and is one of the few racially diverse districts in the country currently represented by a Republican. 40% of the district identifies as Asian American, and over 25% identify as Latinx. Ahead of the 2022 race, this district changed under the redistricting process. The newly renumbered CA-45 seat was numbered CA-39 under the old lines. In the 2024 race, Rep. Tran faced off and ultimately defeated then-GOP incumbent Michelle Steel by less than a point (653 votes). During the 2024 cycle, Tran raised $6 million, and his opponent, Steel, raised $10 million. More than a dozen super PACs, national party committees, politically active nonprofits, and other non-candidate groups together spent more than $34 million. This is Rep. Tran’s first time seeking reelection in this district. Former Rep. Michelle Steel has already indicated that she will run again for this seat.