To: Interested Parties
From: Anna Elsasser, Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 6, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Chuong Vo
Derek Tran’s story is one that relates to so many Southern Californians: the son of Vietnamese refugees who sacrificed everything for a better future, an Army veteran who served his country, and a consumer rights attorney who fought for working families against powerful interests. In Congress, Derek is focused on what matters most to Orange County families – lowering costs, protecting health care and delivering for seniors, supporting public safety, and helping families afford their everyday lives.
Chuong Vo represents the exact opposite. Vo has aligned himself fully with Donald Trump’s policies, defended the administration’s agenda, and embraced the same extremism driving up costs, threatening health care, and dividing communities across Southern California. He’s also built a reputation of putting his own political and financial interests over Orange County, and linking himself directly to the same brand of corruption voters here are tired of.
Heading into November with a record of delivering for his community as an incumbent, and under the new district lines, Derek is on strong footing to once again beat a corrupt politician consumed by MAGA politics and personal ambition.
Chuong Vo Has Put His Own Political and Financial Interests First
Chuong Vo’s record in local office is one defined by self-interest and political opportunism.
While serving on the Cerritos City Council, Vo became embroiled in a shocking self-serving municipal political scandal, voting to delay local elections, and extend his own term in office by nearly a year in a truly Trump-like move and denying residents a chance to vote on schedule.
The move sparked immediate backlash throughout the community, where residents and local observers accused Vo of manipulating election rules to protect his own political future. They blasted the move as a “petty partisan, self-serving Republican election manipulation” because the officials behind it stood to benefit directly from keeping themselves in power longer. One local critic said “Vo, Barrows, and Solanki will financially [and politically] benefit when they vote to move the election to 2025.” What’s more, Vo profited off the move, collecting tens of thousands annually for the council position.
Orange County voters are tired of politicians gaming the system for themselves and their campaign allies. That’s why in Congress, Tran has supported stronger ethics and transparency reforms, including co-sponsoring legislation to ban congressional stock trading and crack down on corruption and insider self-dealing in Washington.
While Vo represents more of the same dysfunction and political self-interest, Derek Tran is focused on restoring trust and delivering for working families.
Chuong Vo Represents More of the Same Failed, Toxic, and Expensive Orange County Republican Politics
There’s no doubt voters will be concerned to hear that Vo’s campaign is backed by the same toxic Republican political machine Orange County voters have already rejected.
Vo accepted $5,000 from former Rep. Michelle Steel’s leadership PAC, directly tying himself to the same corrupt insider network that includes the infamous scandals surrounding former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do and Steel.
Do pled guilty last cycle to taking $550,000 in bribes to cast votes that funneled millions of taxpayer dollars in COVID relief money to his daughter. Meanwhile, Michelle Steel was exposed for her own record of funneling taxpayer-funded meal programs intended for Orange County families toward her campaign’s vendor, and taking hundreds of thousands from special interests and backing sweetheart deals benefiting her wealthy donors.
Vo’s campaign being fueled by Steel’s shady money makes it clear that Vo aligns with her unpopular record of protecting corporate special interests while opposing efforts to lower drug prices, gas prices, and strengthen American manufacturing.
Orange County voters are looking for stability, competence, and leaders focused on solving problems – not more political insiders and partisan extremism. That’s exactly why Derek Tran is positioned to win.
Chuong Vo Would Rubber Stamp the Trump Agenda Hurting Orange County Families
Vo has made clear he stands with Trump and Washington Republicans instead of Southern Californians, saying he is “proud of…this Administration,” posing for photos in D.C. after meeting with Republican leadership, and falsely claiming the federal government is “working more for the people than ever” even as Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill, cost-raising tariffs, and reckless war of choice in Iran crush working families in Southern California.
The Vo-backed agenda strips health care coverage from more than 41,000 people in CA-45, threatens tens of thousands of working families’ abilities to put food on their tables, nearly doubles health insurance premiums, – pricing 400,000 Californians out of their health care, including nearly 10,000 people in CA-45 – and continues reckless tariffs driving up prices on everyday goods and hurting small businesses across Orange County. Vo has also defended aggressive, unpopular ICE crackdowns across Southern California, calling ICE agents’ behavior “outstanding” after agents killed two civilians in Minnesota while dismissing serious concerns from immigrant communities that define Orange County’s electorate.
Derek Tran has made lowering costs and protecting working families central to his work in Congress. As the son of refugees whose family relied on Medicaid, SNAP, and Section 8 housing, Tran understands personally what’s at stake for working families trying to get ahead. That’s why he co-founded the Lowering Costs Caucus, fought Republican efforts to gut health care and food assistance, pushed legislation to lower prescription drug prices, and demanded accountability for tariffs raising costs on Southern California families and small businesses. As a U.S. Army veteran, he also has protected veterans’ paychecks from Washington’s chaos – taking action to defend veterans against federal layoffs and advocating for their pay during federal shutdowns.
The contrast is simple: Vo would make life harder for Orange County families. Tran is fighting to make it more affordable.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
LISTEN: KQED: Derek Tran: First Vietnamese American to Represent Little Saigon in D.C. [KQED, 7/11/25]
Los Cerritos News: Rep. Derek Tran Secures More Than $5 Million for Local Infrastructure, Library Upgrades, and Public Safety Projects [Los Cerritos News, 3/9/26]
NOTUS: Why Democrats Think They’ve Got the Winning Hand on Child Care [NOTUS, 2/4/26]
“Democrats running for Congress are already capitalizing on this issue ahead of the midterms, especially those with young children.
“I talk to [young families] about my work, being on the Dads Caucus, fighting for family leave, [and] making sure that we figure out a way to reinstate the child care and tax credits,” Rep. Derek Tran, a cofounder of the Lowering Costs Caucus, told NOTUS.”
Orange County Register: New congressional effort tries to ensure seniors have access to legal services [Orange County Register, 12/11/25]
Fullerton Observer: Rep. Derek Tran and Orange County labor leader Gloria Alvarado denounced the Trump Administration’s chaotic deportation tactics [Fullerton Observer, 6/17/25]
Fullerton Observer: Representative Tran Introduces No Getting Rich in Congress Act to Combat Corruption, Restore Trust in Government [Fullerton Observer, 3/5/26]
AP News: House Democrat introduces bill to reinstate veterans fired from the federal government under Trump [Associated Press, 2/26/25]
“A freshman Democratic congressman is introducing a bill to protect the jobs of veterans working for the U.S. government amid mass firings by the Trump administration…
The bill from Rep. Derek Tran, an Army veteran and former employment lawyer, would require that any veterans terminated without reason from the federal government since the start of President Donald Trump’s term be reinstated.”
Los Cerritos News: Cerritos City Council Violated Government Code By Voting to Move Election From 2024 to 2025 [Los Cerritos News, 4/13/23]
“Things got heated at last Monday night’s Cerritos City Council ‘special meeting’ with Mayor Chuong Vo…voting to move the city’s election date from April 2024 to March 2025. […]
The three yes votes were cast despite the objections of […] angry public speakers and 12 additional complaints submitted via email to the city clerk; no speakers appeared, or any emails submitted in favor of the move, which will cost the city upwards of $100,000.”
PATH TO VICTORY
California’s 45th Congressional District remains one of the most contested battleground races in the country. Last cycle, Derek Tran flipped the seat by just over 600 votes (a 0.2% margin) in the second-closest and most expensive House race ($46 million spent) in the country. The district continues trending away from Trump-style extremism, particularly among college-educated suburban voters, Asian American and Latino communities, younger voters, and NPPs frustrated by MAGA chaos and rising costs. Following Proposition 50, the district has become more Democratic and brings in over 15,000 new Hispanic voters and over 7,000 new Vietnamese voters.
Derek flipped this seat from Red to Blue last cycle in an environment that was unfriendly to Democrats by winning over key Vietnamese Trump voters. This November, Derek is uniquely positioned to further strengthen this coalition that led him to victory in 2024. As the first Vietnamese American to represent Little Saigon in Congress, an Army veteran, and the son of refugees, Derek brings both a compelling personal story and strong credibility with the diverse communities that define CA-45. Republicans are stuck with a corrupt candidate unabashedly tied to Trump, dysfunction, and divisive partisan politics in a district increasingly rejecting exactly that brand of extremism.
This race offers voters a simple choice: Derek Tran, a veteran and public servant fighting to lower costs and deliver for Orange County families – or Chuong Vo, another MAGA-first politician focused on partisan politics and personal ambition instead of the people he wants to represent. Derek is in a strong position to hold this seat come November. |
