Last Updated on 05/09/2024 by Arun jain
ORANGE, Calif. – Republican Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steele are optimistic.
Yet more and more endangered species members are being scientifically identified California RepublicanThe Orange County-based lawmaker is confident his constituents will vote him into Congress for a third term this fall.
Elected for the first time in 2020, both of their districts are competing targets for the campaign arms of both parties this year — but Kim and Steele aren’t afraid of a fight.
“My family and I came here as immigrants, and we’re living the American dream now, but it’s not the state of California that it once was,” Kim told The Post, when asked about residents leaving the Golden State for pastures, life. Citing cost and quality of life concerns.
“But I’m here, instead of giving up, I’m staying in the fight. And hopefully, in the short term, we’ll be able to bring back that hope and the Golden State that it once was, and help preserve the American dream for future generations,” she continued.
Kim will face retired fire captain Joe Kerr this November, while Steele will face off against an Army veteran and attorney. Derek Tran.
They won their districts in 2022 with 57% and 52% of the vote respectively.
Steele told The Post that she believes her district’s growing immigrant population and the values they bring to their communities will be beneficial to her campaign.
“I still see hope, and we have a lot of immigrants coming in, especially Asian American immigrants in my district. We have about 37% Asian American first generations, and they’re here and they work really hard and they make it. “Something has to change. And it’s changing,” Steele said.
Both women noted the economy as a top issue for Californians, as most of the state’s residents face a high state tax burden, combined with a high cost of living.
Both voted against the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure legislation, which earned them praise for the investment and criticism for their high cost.
Steele’s campaign signs simply read: “Stop Inflation, Cut Taxes.”
“I’m on the Ways and Means Committee right now and we’re seeing a lot of taxes expiring starting in 2017,” Steele said, noting the Trump-era tax reform that expires in 2025.
“So we’re working on that. How do we keep that corporate tax at 21% when the Biden administration wants to raise it to 28%?
“I worked on the Inflation Prevention Act, where we’re asking Congress not to pass any bill that raises inflation until the year-over-year inflation rate falls below 4.5%. We should not pass any bills that further increase that burden,” Kim added.
When it comes to winning races, Kim and Steele have highlighted their ground game efforts, especially with all of Orange County’s congressional districts going for Biden in 2020.
Both campaigns have a full apparatus of interns and volunteers, who spend hours in their campaign offices logging phone banking and canvassing under the Southern California sun.
However, the campaign has not been without criticism — issues like abortion, IVF and Project 2025 have been at the center of Democratic communications and have become a thorn in the side of GOP candidates in tight races across the country.
But Kim argues that at least one of those issues is just a distraction.
“I think the media is the only one talking about Project 2025,” Kim said. “We are not talking about that. My constituents are not talking about this. So the very polarizing news going on in our country is publicized,” she concluded.
A Press release The DCCC announced in July: “Young Kim and Donald Trump’s Project 2025 is an extreme manifesto with “far-reaching consequences for California.”
Meanwhile, an announcement from a Democratic advocacy group House majority forward Steele hit the Orange County airwaves claiming he had tried to ban abortion in California.
Speaking with The Post, Steele clarified her position on this thorny policy topic, and another that has been in the public eye this cycle: in-vitro fertilization.
“I’ve always said you know what? There are only three exceptions: adultery, rape and maternal health. And other than that, I’m pro-life,” Steele said.
“And then it came to IVF. I went through IVF, it took me six years to have two beautiful children. So I’m very grateful for that. So we shouldn’t ban IVF, we really need it. That’s how I built my family. Did. So everyone knows where I stand on the abortion issue,” she added.
Cook Political Report Ranks Steele’s race as “Lean Republican” and Kim’s race as “Likely Republican.”
As of June 30, these two California incumbents have more money in the bank than their opponents: Kim He has $3.6 million, compared to Kerr’s roughly $470,000 Steel Tran’s are $1.15 million to $3.8 million.
Post GOP Rep. Young Kim and Michelle Steele are preparing to fight to defend seats in their highly competitive social districts appeared first New York Post.