Last week, Sukhee Kang, the mayor of Irvine, California, announced that he is running for Congress. Kang, a Democrat, will seek the highly competitive congressional seat representing much of coastal Orange County -- a traditionally Republican-dominated area: Irvine mayor launches bid for Congress.
Kang still faces daunting odds in the yet-to-be-finalized district, which draft maps show including Irvine as well as a strip of coastal terrain from Seal Beach to Laguna Niguel.Holy crap. You read that right -- Asian Americans make up forty percent of Irvine's residents, and Kang draws heavy support from the Korean American community. And by the way, by my count, there are no Americans of Korean descent currently serving in Congress.
For one, there's a GOP registration advantage - 43 percent Republican, 29 percent Democrat, 23 percent decline-to-state.In addition, Kang will likely have to contend with longtime Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, or Rep. John Campbell, R-Irvine, both of whom typically rout their Democratic adversaries.
Councilwoman Beth Krom - Kang's colleague and fellow Democrat - challenged Campbell last year and went down in a 60 percent to 36 percent drubbing.
Nonetheless, the first-generation Korean immigrant might benefit from Irvine's burgeoning population of Asian-Americans, who make up about 40 percent of city residents.
It won't be an easy election, and to a lot of people this looks like a long shot, or a just plain bad idea. But with just the right set of circumstances falling into place, could Kang drum up the support he needs to take the seat? More here: Sukhee Kang to Run for Congress in 2012.