With California’s June 2 primary closing in, Rep. Derek Tran is trying to hang on to a hard-won flip of the 45th District while fending off a full bench of Republican challengers across North Orange County. Tran, the first Vietnamese American to represent the seat, took the district in 2024 by a little more than 600 votes and is leaning on constituent service stories and a sizable cash cushion as the top‑two showdown approaches. His office points to millions recovered for residents and federal community project dollars steered into local cities as proof that he is delivering. Voters in Fullerton, Westminster, Garden Grove, and neighboring communities will decide which two names advance to the November ballot.
Who’s running
Tran faces five Republican contenders on June 2: Tom Vo, Chi “Charlie” Nguyen, Chuong Vo, Amy Phan West, and Mark Leonard. The field blends local officeholders, veterans, and small‑business figures. This lineup underscores the fight for the district’s sizable Vietnamese American electorate and broader suburban voters worried about day‑to‑day costs and public safety. The full roster and short biographies are laid out in the Los Angeles Times voter guide.
Tran's edge: money and casework
According to Federal Election Commission filings, Tran’s principal campaign committee reported roughly $3.86 million in receipts and about $2.64 million in cash on hand for the period that closed March 31, 2026. His team pairs that financial advantage with constituent‑service talking points. A press release on Rep. Tran’s website says his casework office has recovered more than $5 million for residents in delayed Social Security checks, tax refunds, and Veterans payments. Local updates have also highlighted his presentation of federal community project funding, including a $1 million allocation for Cypress flood prevention that his office says was secured for district cities. Together, those dollar figures and visible infrastructure wins give Tran both the war chest and the doorstep stories his challengers will have to contest.
District snapshot
The 45th District stretches across northern Orange County into portions of Los Angeles County and includes Fullerton, Buena Park, Cypress, Westminster, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Norwalk, Hawaiian Gardens, Artesia, and Lakewood. It is home to roughly 750,000 residents, with large Asian and Latino populations and a median voter age of 41. Democrats hold roughly an eight‑point edge in voter registration, while about a quarter of voters list no party preference, dynamics that helped make the 2024 race razor‑thin, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
What to watch
The June 2 top‑two primary will cut the field down to two, and county election officials are set to begin mailing ballots in early May. The California Secretary of State lists the statewide primary date as June 2, 2026, and outlines key mail‑ballot deadlines for voters. Strategists are watching one big question: whether Republican voters rally behind a single alternative or splinter across five different names. A divided right‑of‑center vote would likely clear an easier path for the incumbent under California’s open primary rules. Expect the final stretch to feature intensive voter outreach, fresh fundraising reports, and lots of local messaging on housing, homelessness, and affordability as every campaign works to stitch together the coalition it needs to land in the top two.
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