A Republican super PAC with ties to House Speaker Mike Johnson rolled out its first-ever ad entirely in Vietnamese to target a key demographic in a tight House race.
The Congressional Leadership Fund is running its groundbreaking ad in California’s 45th congressional district, where two-term incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel is battling with Democratic candidate Derek Tran, an attorney and veteran.
Ms. Steel’s race is one of the many that is considered a “toss-up” by election rater the Cook Political Report, and she is running in a district that President Biden won by 6 points in 2020.
The district is 39% Asian, and home to the largest Vietnamese population in the U.S. — a voting bloc that both campaigns have been courting that, if consolidated, could propel either candidate to Washington.
“In a district as diverse as this, we have to target and specialize our message to ensure every voter understands what’s at stake,” CLF spokesperson Courtney Parella said in a statement to The Washington Times. “The Vietnamese community is essential for Congresswoman Michelle Steel to win and protect California families from Derek Tran’s harmful policies.”
The outside group’s ad recycles shots it has taken against Mr. Tran in previous messaging, including his legal defense of a man accused of sexually assaulting his female coworkers, and outside groups that back him who are also opponents of California’s Prop 13.
CLF’s ad is running on streaming services in the district, a medium that the outside group has heavily invested in across other races throughout this cycle. So far, CLF has spent $37 million on streaming for the 2024 election, nearly double what it spent the last cycle.
And in California’s 45th district, the outside group has spent $6.5 million and plans to spend more before election day on Nov. 5.
Courting the district’s Vietnamese population has been a major focus of both campaigns, and has resulted in both sides accusing one another of “red-baiting,” or attacking someone as a Communist, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Indeed, Ms. Steel has sent mailers to voters that link Mr. Tran, who is the son of Vietnamese refugees, to the late dictator and first chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong.
Ms. Steel, a Korean American, garnered some heat for her recent comment that she was “more Vietnamese” than her opponent.
“My opponent might have a Vietnamese name, but you know that I understand the Vietnamese community and I’ve been working with the Vietnamese American community for more than 30 years,” Ms. Steel told a Vietnamese-language outlet earlier this month.
Mr. Tran hit back at her comment in a statement where he accused Ms. Steel of taking the Vietnamese community in the district for granted and insulting voters’ intelligence.
“Her red-baiting attacks against me have only backfired, so she is resorting to this racist attack line — questioning my ethnic heritage and upbringing while inventing one for herself,” Mr. Tran said. “My father lost his first wife and four of my half siblings on his first attempt to flee the communist regime in Vietnam.
“Michelle Steel knows nothing about that experience or what my people have been through,” he said. “She’s insulted my family and their legacy with her lies. It’s deplorable to try to steal someone else’s culture for your political benefit.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.