In the U.S. midterm elections, Chinese American politician Richard Pan, 61, was elected to the House of Representatives. Four incumbent Chinese American House members also won reelection, bringing the number of Chinese American lawmakers in the 120th Congress launching next year to a record six, including one senator.
On the 5th (local time), according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong, Pan, a Democrat, defeated incumbent independent Rep. Kevin Kiley in California’s 6th District.
A physician by training, Pan served in the California State Assembly and Senate from 2010 to 2022 and is entering the U.S. Congress for the first time. In the state legislature, Pan mainly focused on public health policy and also chaired the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.
Pan told the SCMP, “I am proud to help increase representation of Asian Americans in Congress,” adding, “I will work to lower household costs, protect access to health care, and defend democracy.”
In this election, four Chinese American House members—Vince Fong, Judy Chu, Ted Lieu of California, and Grace Meng of New York—won reelection. Adding Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is Thai Chinese and was not up for election this time, the next Congress will have five Chinese American members in the House and one in the Senate.
Chinese American lawmakers have centered their work around the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Meng, who currently leads the caucus, issued a statement in Aug. with Lieu and Chu condemning a right-wing podcast’s claim that Chinese Americans should be detained in camps if the United States goes to war with China.
Meng called Pan’s election “a historic milestone in expanding representation of Chinese Americans in the U.S. Congress.”
Christine Chen, executive director of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, said she hopes more lawmakers will emerge from California, where the Chinese American population is large. Chen added that expanding representation in Congress is especially meaningful as Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans, are being portrayed as caught between U.S.-China competition.
