GARDEN GROVE, California (AP) — The first Vietnamese American elected to California’s Legislature says he plans to challenge one of the leading Latino American politicians for her spot in Congress.
State Assemblyman Van Tran says he filed paperwork on May 6 to create a committee so he can run against Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the 2010 election.
The third-term Republican is from Orange County and says the struggling economy makes Sanchez’s 47th Congressional District ripe for change. The 44-year-old says it’s time “to get the issues out and to contrast diverse positions.”
Sanchez says she welcomes “a spirited debate.” The 49-year-old was re-elected last year with more than 60 percent of the vote.
The district in Orange County has large Latino and Vietnamese American constituencies. ♦