MICHELE NORRIS, host
Republicans are hoping to make gains in this year's midterm elections, and they're looking for new voices to carry their message to voters. One of their top prospects is California Assemblymember Van Tran. He's been recruited by the party to run for Congress in a Southern California district with the highest concentration of Vietnamese-Americans in the nation.
As part of our series on the next generation of GOP leaders, NPR's Ina Jaffe reports.
INA JAFFE: In a nondescript hotel in a town known for its auto malls, 40 supporters of congressional candidate Van Tran gathered recently for a buffet supper and speech from the candidate. He began with this realization.
Assemblyman VAN TRAN (Republican, California): I am standing between you and the roast beef.
(Soundbite of laughter)
JAFFE: So, demonstrating his instinct for survival, he spoke for less than 20 minutes, but the relative brevity took some effort.
Assemblyman TRAN: And, I mean, I can talk until tomorrow - which I'm not going to do, obviously - about my legislative track record or my...
JAFFE: He is especially proud of his bill to widen a local freeway.
Assemblyman TRAN: So whenever you drive on the 55 freeway and you get onto the carpool lane, please remember my name.
JAFFE: Van Tran's name is easily remembered in Orange County's Vietnamese community. He's represented it for nearly six years in the state legislature. Before that, he was a member of a local city council. And Tran's personal story is very much like his constituents. His family left Vietnam on an American military transport plane a week before the fall of Saigon. He was 10 years old.
Assemblyman TRAN: It was a trip that defined, of course, my life. But you've left a lot of memories back in the old country, and still you remember the legacy of the war, and you live through it, through your parents and through your elders, as well.
JAFFE: And that experience, says Tran, has given him a unique perspective that's guided his political life.
Assemblyman TRAN: It goes back to the virtues that make this country great. Whether we've been here for generations or we've just been here yesterday, it's all about freedom. It's all about opportunity. It's all about hard work and fairness and the generosity of the American people, as well.
JAFFE: Tran describes himself as a conservative on social issues, as well as fiscal ones. But Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who's in charge of recruiting candidates for the National Republican Congressional Committee, says he was looking for more than a conservative ideologue.
Representative KEVIN MCCARTHY (Republican, California): I'm looking for fresh faces, people who understand their district, listen to their district, could actually solve problems.
JAFFE: And Van Tran, says McCarthy, is all of those things.
Rep. MCCARTHY: And when you look at this district and the makeup of it, he's the - one of the first names that come to mind.
JAFFE: Tran has a rival for the GOP nomination. Quang Pham, however, is not as well funded and lacks the official backing of the party. So, presuming Tran wins the primary, he'll then be taking on Democrat and seven-term incumbent Loretta Sanchez.
Representative LORETTA SANCHEZ (Democrat, California): Mr. Speaker, I write today in support of House Resolution 334, which I...
JAFFE: Sanchez has paid considerable attention to the concerns of her Vietnamese constituents and serves as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam.
Rep. SANCHEZ: This resolution calls for the release of 118 Vietnamese citizens who have been arrested, detained or harassed for signing the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy in Vietnam.
JAFFE: The demographics in the 47th Congressional District favor Sanchez. There are nearly three times more Latinos registered to vote than there are Vietnamese, and Democrats have a 13-point registration advantage. The executive director of the Orange County Democratic Party, Melahat Rafiei, says the Republicans have made a mistake in targeting Loretta Sanchez.
Ms. MELAHAT RAFIEI (Executive Director, Orange County Democratic Party): It's a very bad idea to make the assumption that, you know, that Vietnamese voters are going to vote for someone just because they have a Vietnamese name or they're Vietnamese. And voters in this district know that Congresswoman Sanchez has been there for them as a representative. And, you know, if this was another district where the representative was out of touch with the community, I could understand the Republican strategy. But they've kind of picked the wrong person to fight.
JAFFE: Still, Van Tran believes he can unseat Sanchez next November, despite the challenges. As evidence that nothing is impossible, he points to a Democrat. Look at Barack Obama, he says. Who would have thought he'd be president today?
Ina Jaffe, NPR News.