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Derek Tran
Derek Tran (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing California's 45th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.
Tran (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent California's 45th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Biography
Derek Tran was born in Los Angeles County, California.[1] He earned his bachelor's degree from Bentley University and his law degree from Glendale University. He served eight years in the U.S. Army.[2] His career experience includes working as a consumer rights attorney and small business owner.[3]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2025-2026
Tran was assigned to the following committees:[Source]
- Committee on Small Business
- Contracting and Infrastructure
- Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations
- House Committee on Armed Services
- Intelligence and Special Operations
- Readiness
Elections
2026
See also: California's 45th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. House California District 45
Incumbent Derek Tran, Brian Forde, Mark Leonard, Chi Charlie Nguyen, and Michelle Steel are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 45 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Derek Tran (D) | |
 | Brian Forde (D) | |
 | Mark Leonard (R)  | |
 | Chi Charlie Nguyen (R) | |
 | Michelle Steel (R) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: California's 45th Congressional District election, 2024
California's 45th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 45
Derek Tran defeated incumbent Michelle Steel in the general election for U.S. House California District 45 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Derek Tran (D) | 50.1 | 158,264 |
| Michelle Steel (R) | 49.9 | 157,611 | |
| Total votes: 315,875 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 45
Incumbent Michelle Steel and Derek Tran defeated Kim Nguyen-Penaloza, Cheyenne Hunt, and Aditya Pai in the primary for U.S. House California District 45 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Steel (R) | 54.9 | 78,022 |
| ✔ | | Derek Tran (D) | 15.9 | 22,546 |
 | Kim Nguyen-Penaloza (D) | 15.6 | 22,179 | |
 | Cheyenne Hunt (D) | 8.4 | 11,973 | |
 | Aditya Pai (D) | 5.2 | 7,399 | |
| Total votes: 142,119 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jimmy Pham (D)
Endorsements
Tran received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Derek Tran has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Derek Tran asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Derek Tran, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
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You can ask Derek Tran to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@derektranforcongress.com.
2024
Derek Tran completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tran's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Derek is the son of refugees. His parents fled the Communist regime in Vietnam so that their children could realize the American Dream in Southern California. Through hard work and sacrifice, Derek’s family opened a corner market where Derek worked every day after school. At the age of 18, Derek enlisted in the Army to give back to the country that had given him and his family so much.
After the military, Derek went to law school to uphold the liberties, individual rights, and rule of law that his parents immigrated to America for.
While corporations are raking in record profits and customers are paying more for basic goods and services, Derek holds bad actors accountable, ensuring that workers, immigrants, and survivors of sexual harassment get the justice they deserve.
Derek serves as a Traffic Commissioner, sits on the board of Consumers of Attorneys of California and mentors at-risk youth.
Derek and his wife Michelle, a pharmacist, own a small pharmacy together, and have three children in public school.- Holding Corporations And Special Interests Accountable
- Honoring Our Veterans And Military Families
- Protecting Individual Rights, Personal Freedoms, And The Right To Choose
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Personal finance disclosures
Members of the House are required to file financial disclosure reports. You can search disclosure reports on the House’s official website here.
Analysis
Below are links to scores and rankings Ballotpedia compiled for members of Congress. We chose analyses that help readers understand how each individual legislator fit into the context of the chamber as a whole in terms of ideology, bill advancement, bipartisanship, and more.
If you would like to suggest an analysis for inclusion in this section, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
119th Congress (2025-2027)
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House California District 45 |
Officeholder U.S. House California District 45 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "TRAN, Derek," accessed July 3, 2025
- ↑ Tran.House.gov, "About," accessed July 3, 2025
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 10, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michelle Steel (R) |
U.S. House California District 45 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
