LA HABRA, Calif. — Republicans who ran for Congress beat expectations and narrowed margins in the House while hanging on to key seats in the Senate. The traditionally Republican Orange County turned purple this election cycle, as two Republican women edged out their Democratic incumbent opponents.
Republican Congresswoman-elect Young Kim unseated incumbent Gil Cisneros with a margin of victory of about 1.4 percent, despite multiple polls predicting a Democratic win.
“Political pundits thought this seat will remain Democrat, and they didn’t think I had the opportunity to flip it, but we showed them otherwise,” Kim said.
In 2018, Kim lost to Cisneros by over 7,500 votes. This time, she won by over 4,100 votes. The immigrant mother of four attributes her victory to her grassroots organization, to being accessible even after she lost, and to the people who believed in her message to be independent, with a bipartisan mindset.
“Very appreciative,” Kim said. Very grateful for the support that I received not only from our party leadership, but the hundreds of thousands of people that put their faith and trust in me and my team.”
Kim broke barriers as one of at least 35 Republican women expected to serve in Congress, and as the one of the first Korean American women ever elected.
“It’s a history making time right now. And I think for us as a Korean American,” Kim said. “I think we bring a nice balance for the Asian American community; it doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, they’re looking for bipartisan work and I think we can bring that.”
Kim said she’s ready to listen to, and represent, all of her constituents whether or not they voted for her. She said her congressional priorities include lowering prescription drug costs, using her perspective to push for change in the immigration system, and secure COVID-19 relief.
“Let’s really focus on bringing funding to helping families and open business and more money for schools so we can reopen in a safe manner,” Kim said.
Kim said she has high hopes for the 116th Congress to pass a new stimulus package but if that doesn’t happen, she said she’ll be “vocal” to pass one as soon as possible after she’s sworn into the 117th Congress.
Kim went through her first week of orientation where she met other freshmen from across the nation. She was joined by another California Republican Korean American congresswoman-elect Michelle Steel who unseated Democrat Harley Rouda; both women flipped an Orange County congressional district. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called their victories “remarkable”.
Kim said her opponent Cisneros called her to concede the same day AP announced the race. They both agreed to start the smooth transition of leadership. For the presidency, AP and networks have called the race for Joe Biden yet President Trump has not conceded. When asked about this, Kim said the presidential results were not finalized.
“There are still a number of ballots that are coming in and still being counted so we still don’t know what the final result will be,” Kim said. “I think the president has the right to pursue legal challenges and raise concerns about the elections.”
“We’re going to come back for the second week of orientation. That’s what I’m focused on and by then, I do hope that the presidential race would have some to a conclusion one way or another. My focus is to work with anyone who occupies the White House,” Kim said.
The election process now moves forward to states certifying results. After that, electors will cast their ballots on December 14, followed by the President of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence, receiving the certificate of votes two days before Christmas.
The final step is for Congress to count electoral votes on January 6. Inauguration Day is January 20th.