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Majority Savers: Let's Support Jay Chen for California-45! [1]

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Date: 2022-10-17

Candidate Background

Jay Chen has a family that is originally from Taiwan. That is why the smears by Michelle Steel against him for being a Chinese sympathizer make little to no sense! Yet, given the animosity amongst different Asian groups at times, they are likely a part of a very effective attack.

Chen earned a Navy ROTC scholarship, which led him to the gates of Harvard University. He studied and helped businesses around the globe after his studies, and eventually wound up back in Orange County to start a real estate business.

In the Navy, Chen is part of the Naval Reserves. He saw action against Daesh in Operation Inherent Resolve, and he helped play a role in preparing the Navy for the COVID-19 pandemic once that started spreading in the Middle East.

Chen also is a member of his local school board, where he pushed for dual language classes in Spanish and Mandarin, as well as free SAT classes and helped college bound students with free application workshops.

Signature Issues

Jay Chen is likely going to be on the more moderate end of the Democratic caucus if elected. His district is full of voters spooked by the ‘socialist’ label, and he will have to fight against that being used on him. He still should vote for the Biden agenda nearly 100% of the time if he makes it.

Health Care and Abortion: Jay Chen has a very detailed health plan, which includes increasing quality, lowering prescription drug costs, and reducing costs where possible. He also is pro-choice, knowing that politicians need to butt out of legislating this particular health decision.

Defending Democracy: Jay Chen fought extremists abroad, and he will fight those trying to take away our vote at home as well. He would support the John Lewis VRA, as well as many other measures that make it simpler to vote — especially for those who’s first language isn’t English.

Veterans Services: A natural area of concern for Chen, he would try and eliminate as much red tape for veterans in the VA as possible. It can be difficult for younger veterans to receive care in the VA system. He would also look to better support homeless veterans across America.

Elections History

Recent Elections —

2020 President: Joe Biden (D) 52.1%, TFG (R-inc) 46.0%

2020 House: Michelle Steel (R) 51.1%, Harley Rouda (D-inc) 48.9%

2022 PVI: D+2

2022 Race Rating: Tossup

This district used to be numbered the 48th district of California, and it stretched along the Orange County coast. The seat, like most of Orange County, was quite uncompetitive for most of its history. The county was considered the home turf of Richard Nixon and traditionally was quite conservative leaning. The only two Democratic candidates to win the county since the Great Depression were Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

Representation from this district has also been horrendous for most of its history. Before 2018, the longest tenured incumbent from the area was Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who many considered a Russian asset. He skated by with nary a serious challenge for nearly 30 years in office. Even the 2006 and 2008 blue waves failed to bother him! 2018 was a different story, however.

Clinton carried the 48th district in 2016, and that painted a huge target on the back of Rohrabacher. Former Rep. Harley Rouda answered the call and ousted the longtime incumbent from office. Rouda could only last one term in office before current Rep. Michelle Steel won the district back. She was helped by the fact that this district leaned more to the right in 2020 as many Asians voted for TFG. Now, Jay Chen is looking to win this district back for Democrats.

Sadly, this area was ground zero for protests against the measures adopted for the pandemic in the US.

Political Tour of the District

This district now contains very little of the coastal regions and it travels into the interior of Orange County to pick up bluer areas. It is a district that is still fairly evenly split between Democratic and Republican voters. Asian voters and Hispanic voters are the critical swing votes in this area.

Here’s where this race will be won in the 45th district.

Fullerton: This city has traditionally voted for the GQP, but more and more of it now votes for Democratic candidates. The campus of Cal State Fullerton is in the district, and getting out the student vote may be key to Chen winning this district in 2022.

This city has traditionally voted for the GQP, but more and more of it now votes for Democratic candidates. The campus of Cal State Fullerton is in the district, and getting out the student vote may be key to Chen winning this district in 2022. Cerritos, Buena Park, Cypress: These suburbs remained loyal to Democratic candidates even as others nearby shifted hard right to support the GQP in 2020. Chen will need to at least match the Biden margins, if not exceed them to compensate for areas that Steel will be strong in.

Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.

Garden Grove: This city is filled with Asian voters that shifted hard to the right in 2020. The city itself voted 50-50, but Chen will have a difficult time getting to that margin because this part of the district is one that Michelle Steel should do well in.

This city is filled with Asian voters that shifted hard to the right in 2020. The city itself voted 50-50, but Chen will have a difficult time getting to that margin because this part of the district is one that Michelle Steel should do well in. Westminster and Fountain Valley: Vietnamese voters predominate in these two cities, and they bought language specific misinformation that Democratic candidates are socialist/communist. It is important for Chen to get as close to 50-50 in these cities as possible in order to win.

Activism — Help How You Can!

Jay Chen is running in an expensive district to run in, and he seems to be handling the fundraising requirements fairly well. He raised $994k during quarter 2. He had $2.1 MILLION in cash after quarter 2. Being a part of the coveted Red to Blue program no doubt has aided his campaign.

Rep. Michelle Steel is also a prodigious fundraiser, and she raised a similar $1.04 MILLION in quarter 2. In quarter 3, she raised another $1.5 MILLION to add to her campaign. She had $2.1 MILLION in the bank at the end of quarter 2. It is likely that dark money will be at play to defend this district, as Democrats have largely stayed out of the fray.

DONATE TO JAY CHEN HERE

The election is very close, and in fact many voters are receiving their ballots now. That means that volunteers are needed to remind people to vote, check off people who have already voted, text and phone bank for last minute canvassing or donations, and many more tasks that a campaign has. The need grows more urgent by the day, so if you are in Orange County, sign up below!

VOLUNTEER FOR HIS CAMPAIGN HERE

In terms of social media, Chen is rocking it in FOUR different languages on his campaign website. He has a section in Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and English. Given the demographics of the district, it warms my heart to see a candidate so prepared to meet the voters in terms of language barriers. It is the perfect antidote to language misinformation!

In terms of Twitter, he actually has a lower number of followers than I thought. Part of it is the language barriers of the district, but I worry his message is not getting out to people. Please follow him on his social media pages and help amplify his message. He filled out a questionnaire recently to help introduce himself to voters.

x Here is my @ocregister candidate questionnaire which I filled out so voters can get to know my stances on issues like inflation, gun violence, public schools, and abortion. @RepSteel refused to participate. She doesn't want you to know the truth. https://t.co/Ti0sCGkflm — Jay Chen for Congress (@jfchen) October 7, 2022

He also needs help getting his message out on Facebook and Instagram, as well as his YouTube channel. In this day and age of social media becoming more and more important, Jay Chen seems to be weak on these fronts, though he has many strengths too! As another strength, here is his last interview that he put on social media.

In spite of running in a district that Clinton and Biden won, I am a little worried about this race. It is not that Jay Chen isn’t a strong candidate, it is more that Rep. Michelle Steel is a strong incumbent. She is running one of the most dishonest campaigns in California, which is hurting Chen immensely. Hopefully dark money from our side will come in and make a difference in fighting the smears! Remember that our majority goes through the southwestern US, hence Southwestern Week!

How to find all Majority Savers’ diaries:

To find all past and future diaries of the Majority Savers group, go to their Diaries List. (We suggest that you Bookmark that page.) The home page of the Majority Savers group is here.

Jay Chen for California-45!

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