Jay Chen, a small business owner and lieutenant commander in the US Naval Reserves, is the child of immigrants from Taiwan. He attended local public schools in Southern California and earned a Navy ROTC scholarship to attend Harvard University. After studying at Peking University on a fellowship, Jay joined a global strategy consulting firm, where he worked extensively with Fortune 500 businesses in the software and logistics industries to manage mergers, build new products, and streamline operations, then started his own local real estate business in California.
Jay has served honorably in the Naval Reserves, including in the Korean peninsula and the Middle East. As part of Operation Inherent Resolve, Lieutenant Commander (res.), Chen led an intelligence team, and helped bring justice to the terror group ISIS. He also played a key role in the military’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East.
Jay understands the challenges working people face in a global economy, and sees education as crucial for every child to have the kind of opportunities that school and service in the Navy provided him. As president of his local school board, Jay created innovative programs, including Mandarin language immersion classes, a culinary arts program, and free SAT tutoring. His experience as a Harvard admissions interviewer helped him provide free college application workshops to local students.
Jay has been endorsed by a long list of federal, state, and elected officials, including Senator Tammy Duckworth and Congressman Andy Kim. Jay has been endorsed by numerous unions, including the Orange County Labor Federation, the official regional body that brings together unions from different sectors. Jay’s race should be highly competitive given the close split between Republicans and Democrats in the new 45th District. He and his wife Karen have two young sons.
His opponent is first-term incumbent Republican Michelle Steel, who said last year that it was time to move on from the January 6th attack on Capitol Hill. When she ran for the House in 2020, she said, “I am dumbfounded and terrified of socialism … promising free tuition to college students is socialism.” When Governor Gavin Newsom mandated wearing face masks in public in 2020, Steel, then an Orange County Supervisor, said, “I think our Orange County residents are very smart. If they feel sick, they’re going to wear a mask. It doesn’t really have to be mandatory.”
Steel gets a rating of 0% by the ACLU and a rating of 92% by the NRA. The National Right to Life Committee rates her 100%. She has voted No on the Combating International Islamophobia Act; No against increasing the debt limit; No against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the bipartisan infrastructure bill); No on finding Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress; No against the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act; No against the American Rescue Plan (the Covid-19 Stimulus Package); and No against the 2nd Impeachment of Donald Trump. Her husband is Shawn Steel, who has served as the Republican National Committee Member from California since 2008.
Jay ran for Congress twice before in the 39th District – in 2012 and 2018 – so he is a seasoned campaigner. He knows how to frame his positions on important issues in contrast with Steel’s record. On the first anniversary of the January 6th attack on the Capitol, he called out Steel’s silence on the anniversary, asking why she has declined repeated requests to discuss January 6th and its aftermath. Jay said: “The Capitol insurrection was an assault on our democracy – a democracy that thousands of my brothers and sisters in uniform have died to defend. Michelle Steel will have to explain why she failed to uphold her oath of office. In Congress, I will always defend our Constitution.” When Steel spoke about the increase in California gas prices from 2020 to 2022 and said it was “courtesy of the Democrats”, Jay quickly responded: “Thank you for reminding us that the oil companies contributing to your campaign are making record profits, gouging consumers, and also spilling oil off the OC coastline. Too bad you won’t fight for your district or your constituents.” In response to the surging number of Covid-19 cases in Orange County in early January, 2022, Jay said: “I will say what Michelle Steel refuses to say: please get vaccinated, get boosted, and follow the guidelines of health professionals trying to keep us safe.”
Jay knows how to bring it, but he recognizes the value of teamwork. When Harley Rouda suspended his campaign for Congress this year, Jay made this statement: “Thank you, Congressman Rouda, for everything you have done for Orange County, from unseating “Putin’s Favorite Congressman” [Dana Rohrabacher] to bringing home much needed funding for seniors, veterans, and small businesses. We know this isn’t the end of your service to our country.”
The new CA 45th needs Jay Chen’s principled, passionate leadership, and Washington needs it, too. This will be one of 2022’s closest House races, but with our early, generous support, Jay can win it.
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