Koh wins House seat as Strickland secures fourth term

Dan Koh became the seventh Korean American elected to Congress and Rep. Marilyn Strickland won a fourth term in Tuesday's midterm elections, The Korea Times reported Wednesday, citing Associated Press race calls.

The results brought gains and setbacks for Korean American candidates. In races relevant to Orange County's congressional representation, Dave Min declared victory with a projection from Decision Desk HQ, while Young Kim trailed in a contest that remained unresolved.

Koh, 41, defeated Republican Micah Quinney Jones in Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District, according to The Korea Times. With 77% of votes counted, Koh had 63.42% to Jones' 36.58%. The Democrat lost a congressional primary in another Massachusetts district in 2018. His father is Korean, his mother is Lebanese and his family has roots on Jeju Island.

In Washington's 10th Congressional District, Strickland defeated Republican Chris Chung, the newspaper reported, citing AP. She had 64.37% to Chung's 35.05% with 62% counted. Strickland served as Tacoma mayor from 2010 to 2018 and in 2020 became the first Black person elected to Congress from Washington state.

Min, the Democratic incumbent in California's 47th Congressional District, declared victory over Republican Jenny Rae Le Roux. Decision Desk HQ projected his win, but AP had not called the race when The Korea Times reported the results. Min had 56.74% to Le Roux's 43.26% with 59% counted.

In California's 40th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Ken Calvert led Republican Rep. Young Kim, 54.52% to 45.48%, with 41% counted. Redistricting put the incumbents in the same district, according to the newspaper. Additional mail-in ballots remained to be counted.

Democrat Cyndi Munson lost Oklahoma's gubernatorial race to Republican Mike Mazzei, falling short of becoming the country's first Korean American governor, The Korea Times reported.

The reported vote shares reflected partial counts, not final totals. AP had called the Koh and Strickland races, while the Kim-Calvert contest still awaited an outcome.