Vietnamese Americans Picked Up Political Seats in November Elections

Vietnamese Americans picked up seats across the nation, particularly in California. The Vietnamese population is heavily concentrated in Orange County and Santa Clara County and they have a potent influence on their congressional, state, and local districts. In the November 2016 elections, there are several victories where Vietnamese-Americans were elected.

Stephanie Murphy won Florida’s 7th Congressional District race against 12-term Republican representative John Mica. The 37-year-old is the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress. Murphy is a Democrat.

Madison Nguyen lost the California’s 27th Assembly District race against fellow San Jose City Councilmember Ash Kalra. Nguyen was the first Vietnamese American elected to office in Santa Clara County. Nguyen is a Democrat.

Hubert Vo was re-elected as a member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 149, defeating Republican Bryan Chu by 27 points. Vo, a Democrat, is the first and only Vietnamese American elected to the Texas legislature.

Andrew Do was re-elected as the Orange County Supervisor of the 1st District, defeating Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez by less than 700 votes. Do is a Republican.

In the City of Milpitas, California, two Vietnamese Americans were elected on City Council. Richard Tran became the first Vietnamese American mayor of the city, defeating four other challengers, two of which were current councilmembers. Anthony Phan, the 22-year-old, was elected to Milpitas City Council, beating out four other candidates for one of two open spots as councilmember.

The Vietnamese American population is growing its influence in the political arena. In the past, it was challenging to find Vietnamese Americans willing to run. Now, there is an emerging force of qualified individuals dedicated to representing the Vietnamese community on the ballot.

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Viviane Nguyen

Editor - Politics

She is a lover of politics. She has researched and worked in different levels of government in San Jose, Sacramento, Washington D.C., and Thailand. She is motivated to highlight issues impacting the Vietnamese-American community and Asian American communities at large. She was formerly a Cal-in-Sacramento Fellow at UC Berkeley and notably a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at the Goldman School of Public Policy. She wants to write to show why politics, especially in 2016, is important.

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