U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel’s, R-Calif., campaign to retain her narrowly won 48th District seat is underway, and it will have the help of former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Haley, also the former governor of South Carolina, announced her support of Steel in a statement to Spectrum News 1.

What You Need To Know

  • Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, has endorsed U.S. Rep Michelle Steel for reelection

  • Steel beat Democrat Harley Rouda in a close election that both parties heavily invested in

  • Haley held a fundraiser for Steel in late April

  • The field for the midterm election is not yet set

"The people of Southern California are sick of tax hikes and big government,” Haley said in a statement. “Michelle Steel is working every day to cut taxes, support small businesses and stop out-of-control government spending. She's standing up to bullies like Nancy Pelosi and DC Democrats, who have made her district a top target. That's why I’m proud to endorse her and help her keep up the fight."

Haley has helped Steel fundraise and will help her campaign’s digital efforts.

In Steel’s short time in office, she has loudly criticized spending as lawmakers have passed trillions in stimulus money. Lawmakers continue to discuss more big-spending packages that have bipartisan support like infrastructure. Steel has been roundly attacked by local adversaries over her vote against a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., who holds the nearby 45th Congressional District, has questioned Steel’s sincerity on Asian American Pacific Islander issues.

Steel is in the complex position of holding a district that voted for President Joe Biden but narrowly elected her. So far, she has stuck with the Republican party line. Polling data this far out from the election is scant, but statewide polls show broad support for the big-spending proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Steel’s next election could be a rematch of the last one. Harley Rouda, whom she beat by about 8,000 votes in November, began campaigning as soon as he was voted out. The race drew national attention from both parties and is likely to do so again in 2022.

Steel, along with Young Kim, R-Calif., and Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., are the first Korean American women to hold seats in the House of Representatives. Kim and Steel have both been visible on TV interviews discussing AAPI hate.

While the 48th District has become competitive, it once was all but guaranteed for Republicans. Rouda unseated 15-term Republican Dana Rohrabacher in 2018, the same year all Orange County congressional districts went blue. He won 53% of the vote.

Steel has made herself visible on party-line issues and has avoided criticizing Donald Trump. She did not vote for the second impeachment and has avoided condemning any of Trump’s inaccurate comments about the last election.

While she has actively worked against spending on some large public programs, Steel has helped introduce legislation for a grant program that would allow employers who offer child care to apply for money.

Steel has also been assembling bipartisan advisory boards, the kind that can help her make the case that she has actively served her entire constituency.

But her district remains a fiercely divided one. The endorsement of Haley is a high-profile one, and comes from the rare Trump appointee who, at times, earned bipartisan praise.

Haley herself has been rumored to be interested in a presidential run and has carefully answered questions about Trump’s handling of the election. 

Steel has a long way to go before the next election. Rouda has plenty of time to continue raising money and the urgency to retake the district to grow among national party leaders.