Politics
Cyndi Munson seeks to become the first Korean American governor as Korean American candidates face voters
Oklahoma Democrat Cyndi Munson could make history Tuesday. Young Kim, Dave Min, Marilyn Strickland and Dan Koh are also on the ballot in House races.
Korean American candidates are on ballots from Oklahoma to Washington state on Tuesday. One of them could make national history. Oklahoma Democrat Cyndi Munson is running to become the first Korean American governor anywhere in the United States.
Munson already holds a first. She was the first Asian American woman ever elected to the Oklahoma Legislature and now leads Democrats in the state House. She faces Republican Mike Mazzei in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt in a state that has long favored the GOP.
A rare Republican face-off in California
In Southern California, Rep. Young Kim is locked in one of the most unusual House races in the country. Redistricting pushed fellow Republican Ken Calvert, a 17-term veteran, to run in her 40th District, which takes in parts of Orange and Riverside counties. Calvert led the June top-two primary with 34.9% to Kim's 20.6%, sending both to November.
Kim has pitched herself to moderate voters while Calvert has stressed his ties to the president's movement. She has also outraised him, bringing in about $10.15 million by mid-October compared with roughly $7.05 million for Calvert.
Democrats in friendly territory
Rep. Dave Min is seeking another term in California's 47th District after winning 45.4% of the primary vote, nearly twice his Republican rival's share. In Washington's 10th District, Rep. Marilyn Strickland is going for a fourth term against Republican pharmacist Chris Chung, who is also Korean American.
Strickland's mother is Korean and her father fought in the Korean War. A former two-term Tacoma mayor, she also holds a leadership post in the Congressional Black Caucus.
In Massachusetts, Democrat Dan Koh is running in the 6th District against Republican Micah Quinney Jones, a lawyer who served in the military. Koh, a former Boston mayoral aide and White House official, has family roots on South Korea's Jeju Island.
Together the races show how far Korean American political leadership has grown, with a governor's mansion now within reach for the first time.
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