As Rep. Derek Tran took his oath in Washington, D.C., last week alongside dozens of other new legislators, Orange County’s Vietnamese community celebrated a milestone moment.
For Garden Grove resident Khoa Le and his family, this moment carries historic weight. While Le, a Democrat, often finds himself at odds politically with his Republican mother and brother, he says the three agree on one thing: This milestone has been a long time coming.
Little Saigon, in California’s 45th Congressional District, has for decades served as the beating heart of Orange County’s Vietnamese community. Yet, no Vietnamese American has ever represented the area at the federal level — until now.
Tran, D-Orange, the son of Vietnamese refugees, will serve the district in Congress for a term that covers the next two years, representing the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam.
“His district is going to be very competitive two years from now, and so I hope he acts in the best interest of the people locally,” Le, 23, said.
Several Vietnamese residents who live and work in the cultural and economic hub said they see his victory as a chance to tackle key issues in their district, including housing affordability, an aging population and deportation concerns.
For Le, that also includes creating more job opportunities in the area.
A recent Cal State Fullerton study found Little Saigon’s labor market lags behind the rest of Orange County. In 2022, the area had higher unemployment and a lower employment-to-population ratio than the county overall, the study found. Researchers pointed to an aging workforce and a higher rate of disabilities among working-age residents as potential factors.
The study also found that while big companies have been hiring more in Orange County, Little Saigon has seen a drop in jobs from larger businesses over the past two decades. Manufacturing jobs, in particular, have taken a big hit since 2002, forcing many Little Saigon workers to commute outside the area for work.
Similar to Le, others say that the community needs increased funding and support to boost its economic vitality.
“They want Derek to bring back money and resources to the district,” said Jimmy Pham, a Westminster city commissioner.
Pham, who ran unsuccessfully for the 70th Assembly District in 2024, which includes parts of Little Saigon, said many in the community are focused on economic prosperity and reducing taxes.
“They’re about not doing anything corrupt, not stealing … wanting money and economic resources to be brought back,” he said. “They’re about showing up in the community and being a part of it.”
Community leaders who were actively involved in the district during the most recent election cycle also pointed to housing security as a key issue. While issues with housing affordability and cost of living are prevalent across the county, Little Saigon faces higher poverty rates and lower household incomes compared to the rest of Orange County.
“We primarily spoke to older Vietnamese voters,” said Vu Nguyen, who led OC Action’s Vietnamese language canvassing efforts in support of Tran. “Many of them said they rely on financial support from their families and that it’s difficult to afford housing. California and Orange County is so hard to thrive in … they just want better access to living.”
The CSUF study found that while rents in Little Saigon are lower than the county average, they still pose a greater financial burden on residents. More than 52% of renter households in Little Saigon spend over 35% of their income on rent, compared to 46.1% who do so in the rest of Orange County.
“We really hope to see (Tran) fight to protect seniors and working-class families from losing their homes,” said Tracy La, executive director of VietRISE. “Drive through any street in Little Saigon, and you’re going to see a homeless Vietnamese senior.”
“And then in terms of housing, we’ve never come across a younger Vietnamese person in Orange County that believes that they could afford a home one day,” she said, “because they’re either worried about taking care of their parents who are aging. And housing, as unaffordable as it is, putting a down payment is impossible.”
Another significant issue La said she frequently encounters in her work at VietRISE is the concern over deportation.
“We need Derek Tran to be a champion for immigrant communities. Vietnamese immigrants that are currently in limbo who’ve had deportation orders for a long time but haven’t heard anything for years are nervous,” she said.
During President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, deportations of Vietnamese immigrants surged, and his administration also sought to revoke a 2008 agreement with Vietnam that protected those who arrived before July 12, 1995, many of whom came as a result of the war.
“Seniors resonate with the idea that Vietnamese refugees who left their homelands should not be deported from the United States,” said La. “Human rights and housing have largely been nonpartisan issues among the Vietnamese community.”
La said she hopes Tran will work not just with fellow legislators in Washington, D.C., but also with community members back in his district.
“I want to see him have regular roundtables with members of the community — actual residents on issues like homelessness and immigration,” she said.
The dynamics of Tran’s win
The 45th District is home to more than just Vietnamese voters, but precinct data indicates their support played a key role in handing the victory to Tran, who lives in Orange and runs a pharmacy with his wife in Anaheim, both outside of the district.
It was the closest — and most expensive — race yet in the district, created four years ago during the decennial redistricting process to solidify the political clout of the county’s Vietnamese American community. The race was called for Tran nearly a month after Election Day, who defeated two-term incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel by 653 votes.
“The relatively surprising win of Tran against a well-oiled campaign machine from the Republicans was partly attributed to what I call identity politics,” said Tung Bui, a professor of global business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
When the vote for the House race is mapped, much of Garden Grove and Westminster appear in varying shades of blue, while some of the northern parts of the county are bright red. However, when the district’s presidential vote is mapped, many of the blue parts of Little Saigon turn less blue or go red, which Bui said suggests some voters split their tickets between Trump and Tran.
“Vietnamese voters recognized Derek is one of them,” said Bui.
In the presidential race, the district leaned slightly toward Trump, who received 47.9% of the vote in the 45th District, around 1,430 votes more than Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the congressional race within Orange County lines, however, Steel narrowly outperformed Trump, although Tran ultimately secured the win thanks partly to the votes from the small but solidly blue Los Angeles portion of the district and the inroads he made in Little Saigon. That’s notable because Steel pulled off her second-term victory in the same district in 2022 with around a 5% margin of victory.
Both Steel and Tran have already filed paperwork to run in the district again in 2026, although it’s still too early to tell whether they will actually run.
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