Incumbent Michelle Steel (R) and Derek Tran (D) are running in the general election in California’s 45th Congressional District

By

David Luchs

Incumbent Michelle Steel (R) and Derek Tran (D) are running in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024, in California’s 45th Congressional District.

California’s 45th is one of 19 U.S. House districts that Joe Biden (D) won in 2020 and has a Republican incumbent today. That year, Biden defeated Donald Trump (R) 52.1%–46.0% in the 2024 configuration of the 45th district. In 2022, Steel won re-election 52.4%–47.6% over Jay Chen (D). In the 2022 gubernatorial election, Brian Dahle (R) defeated Gavin Newsom (D) 51.0%–49.0% in the 45th District. As of Jun. 18, 2024, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the general election Lean Republican. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lists the district as a target for this year.

Steel was first elected in 2020 after serving on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the California Board of Equalization. Steel says she has “worked tirelessly to push back against reckless spending policies that are driving nationwide inflation from Washington and I have been committed to standing up to Communist China and standing with our democratic allies abroad.”

Tran is a U.S. Army veteran and consumer rights attorney. Tran says he aims “to put people ahead of politics, protect our democracy, and ensure everyone, no matter what neighborhood they come from has the opportunity to succeed without fear of their freedoms being taken away.”

All 435 seats in the U.S. House are up for election in 2024. Republicans have a 219 to 213 majority with three vacancies. As of June 2024, 45 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) beat Donald Trump (R) 62.4%-35.3%.

California’s 45th Congressional District is one of 34 congressional districts with a Republican incumbent or an open seat the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is targeting in 2024.