Tran, 45, is an attorney and U.S. Army veteran who runs a pharmacy with his wife, Michelle. He is the son of refugees who fled communist Vietnam and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley.
Tran’s first term included small victories for his constituents, including helping trim processing time for small businesses and individuals looking for Social Security and small business loan payouts totaling $5 million this year, his office reported. He also delivered $1 million to the city of Cypress for flood prevention infrastructure.
He also has championed bills, such as the Warrior Act, which codifies a woman’s ability to serve in combat in the Armed Forces. He and Republican Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) also teamed to author the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Foreign Interference Safeguard Act, which aims to protect such entities against hacking and cyber warfare.
Tom Vo was born in Vietnam, served as a fighter pilot for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and moved to Southern California as a refugee after the Vietnam War. He opened a taekwondo studio with several locations throughout Southern California and also has worked as a real estate agent.
Chi Charlie Nguyen, the mayor of Westminster, previously served as a City Council member and a board member for the city’s waste management service.
Nguyen, 61, said he fled Vietnam at age 14 after his father was taken to a “reeducation camp.”
“America has given me the opportunity to realize my dreams, start a family, build a career and serve my community,” he said in an email. “So, I am running for Congress to give back, and to fight against the radical left wing, which sometimes makes me wonder whether I’m living in a Communist country again.”
Chuong Vo served as the mayor of Cerritos while a member of the city council from 2020 to 2025. Vo, 50, recently retired after working as an officer for the Torrance Police Department since 1999.
He considers himself a natural problem solver and was asked by friends and community leaders to run, he said on his campaign website.
“I planned my retirement around spending more time with my son through his last years of high school,” he said in a statement. “Since then, crime rose, costs climbed, and politics got meaner and less honest.”
Amy Phan West, 45, is the second member of the Westminster City Council vying for the congressional seat.
Phan West’s parents fled Vietnam in a fishing boat in 1985 and, after two years in a refugee camp, they received asylum in the United States, according to her campaign website.
She and her husband, Jeremy, own a rental car business, and Phan West, a Republican, said in her candidate’s statement that she “stood up to defend President Trump and the America First movement.”
Mark Leonard, 36, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and an operations analyst who’s running because he thinks this district deserves a candidate “who shows up for everyone.”
He said he shops at the same stores and faces the same issues as the families he speaks with. His time in the Marine Corps taught him that leadership means putting others first, and his background in business and analysis has meant learning to cut through the noise and focus on what actually works.
His three main issues are housing costs, job security and healthcare.
