2024 California's 45th congressional district election
The 2024 California's 45th congressional district election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the United States Representative for California's 45th congressional district, concurrently with elections for the other U.S. House districts in California and the rest of the country, as well as the 2024 U.S. Senate race in California, other elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary election will be held on March 5, 2024, concurrently with the Super Tuesday presidential primaries.
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Based in Orange County and Los Angeles County, the 45th district contains all of Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove, Cypress, Buena Park, Cerritos, Artesia, La Palma, Placentia, Hawaiian Gardens, Los Alamitos, and Rossmoor, as well as portions of Brea, Lakewood, Fullerton, and Yorba Linda.[1] One-third of all registered voters in the district are Asian American, with Vietnamese Americans alone comprising 16% of the district's voters.[2]
The incumbent is Republican Michelle Steel, who was re-elected with 52.4% of the vote in 2022. Steel, who is Korean American, was first elected in 2020, unseating incumbent Democrat Harley Rouda. She previously served as a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the California State Board of Equalization.
The race is expected to be highly competitive. Both House Democrats and House Republicans have listed California's 45th district among their highest-priority districts in the 2024 election.[3][4] Joe Biden carried this district by a 6% margin in the 2020 presidential election.[5] Steel is one of 18 House Republicans representing a Biden-won district.[6]
Candidates
Declared
- Cheyenne Hunt (Democratic), attorney and TikTok influencer[7]
- Kim Bernice Nguyen (Democratic), Garden Grove city councilor and runner-up for Orange County Board of Supervisors District 2 in 2022[8]
- Aditya Pai (Democratic), attorney[9]
Filed paperwork
- Brian Forde (Democratic)[10]
- Jimmy Pham (Democratic), attorney and community activist[11]
- Mike Schaefer (Democratic), member of the California State Board of Equalization from the 4th district (2019–present)[12]
- Michelle Steel (Republican), incumbent U.S. Representative[13]
Potential
- Jay Chen (Democratic), Mt. San Antonio College trustee and runner-up for this district in 2022[14]
Endorsements
- U.S. Representatives
- Sara Jacobs, U.S. Representative from CA-51 (2021–present)[15]
- State legislators
- Monique Limón, state senator from the 19th district (2020–present)[16]
- Tom Umberg, state senator from the 34th district (2018–present)[17]
- State assemblymembers
- Tom Daly, former state assemblyman from the 69th district (2012–2022) and former mayor of Anaheim (1992–2002)[17]
- Josh Lowenthal, state assemblyman from the 69th district (2022–present)[17]
- Cottie Petrie-Norris, state assemblywoman from the 73rd district (2018–present)[17]
- Sharon Quirk-Silva, state assemblywoman from the 65th district (2012–2014, 2016–present)[16]
- Local officials
- Valerie Amezcua, mayor of Santa Ana (2022–present)[16]
- José Trinidad Castañeda, Buena Park city councilor (2022–present)[16]
- Katrina Foley, Orange County supervisor from the 5th district (2021–present)[17]
- Farrah Khan, mayor of Irvine (2020–present)[16]
- Susan Sonne, Buena Park city councilor (2020–present)[16]
- Connor Traut, Buena Park city councilor (2018–present)[16]
- Labor unions
- Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO[17]
- International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 36[17]
- United Association Local 250[17]
- Organizations
Fundraising
Bold indicates the incumbent.
| Campaign finance reports as of March 31, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Brian Forde | $0 | $0 | $222,357 |
| Cheyenne Hunt | Did not file | ||
| Kim Bernice Nguyen | $49,533 | $13,519 | $36,013 |
| Aditya Pai | Did not file | ||
| Jimmy Pham | Did not file | ||
| Michelle Steel | $1,077,098 | $518,556 | $1,015,078 |
| [21] | |||
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[22] | Lean R | February 2, 2023 |
| Inside Elections[23] | Lean R | March 10, 2023 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[24] | Lean R | February 23, 2023 |
References
- "Our District".
- "Why a Southern California congressional race hinges on Asian American voters".
- "House Democrats eye lost ground in 2024". Axios.
- "McCarthy launches 'Protect the House 2024' as he aims to expand the GOP majority".
- "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts".
- "The New Crossover Members of the House".
- Kang, Hanna (April 4, 2023). "25-year-old OC TikTok influencer could become the next Gen Z member of Congress". The Orange County Register.
- Singer, Jeff (January 25, 2023). "Orange County Democrat launches bid to beat Rep. Michelle Steel in competitive seat Biden carried". The Daily Kos.
- Kang, Hanna (April 10, 2023). "Third Democrat jumps into race in attempt to flip Michelle Steel's seat in 2024". The Orange County Register.
- "Brian Forde Statement of Candidacy" (PDF).
- "Jimmy Pham Statement of Candidacy" (PDF).
- "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1704150".
- "Michelle Steel Statement of Candidacy" (PDF).
- "House GOP reckons with 'candidate quality' problem after midterms — and ahead of 2024". December 13, 2022.
- Chmielewski, Dan (May 15, 2023). "And Endorsements are Coming In". The Liberal OC. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- "Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva and CA-45 Leaders endorse Kim Bernice Nguyen for Congress". New Santa Ana. January 30, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- "Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council endorses Kim Bernice Nguyen for Congress". Orange County Breeze. March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- @OCYD (March 30, 2023). "Join us tonight to support former OCYD Executive Board Member @votekimnguyen!". Twitter. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- "Support Pro-Israel Candidates". AIPAC PAC. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- "Republican Party of Orange County endorses Rep. Michelle Steel for reelection". Orange County Breeze. February 23, 2023. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- "California - House District 45".
- "2024 House Race Ratings: Another Competitive Fight for Control". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- "First 2024 House Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- "Initial House Ratings: Battle for Majority Starts as a Toss-up". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 23, 2023.