Koh becomes 7th Korean American elected to US Congress; Strickland secures 4th term

Dan Koh became the seventh Korean American elected to the U.S. Congress after winning a House seat in Massachusetts in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, while fellow Democrat and Korean American Marilyn Strickland secured her fourth House term.

The AP called the race in Massachusetts' 6th congressional district for Koh over Republican Micah Quinney Jones. With 77 percent of the vote counted, Koh had secured 63.42 percent, comfortably ahead of Jones, who garnered 36.58 percent.

A former White House official during former President Joe Biden's administration and Boston mayoral aide, Koh previously ran for Congress in another Massachusetts district in 2018 but lost in the Democratic primary.

Koh, 41, whose father is Korean and mother is Lebanese, has family roots in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju. His grandfather previously worked at the South Korean Embassy in Washington.

"We need people who are focused on holding this administration accountable while also having an ambitious agenda to lower cost, ending the war in Iran, capping people's utility bills, making sure that we're protecting our planet," Koh said.

In Washington state's 10th congressional district, Democratic Rep. Marilyn Strickland won her fourth term, defeating fellow Korean American Chris Chung, a Republican, according to the AP.

With 62 percent of the vote counted, Strickland had received 64.37 percent, compared with Chung's 35.05 percent.

Strickland, whose Korean name is Kim Soon-ja, was born to a Korean mother and an American father who served in the Korean War.

"I'm grateful to continue representing the South Sound in Washington, D.C. Thank you to all the volunteers and voters, and to everyone who shared our vision for a safer, more affordable, and more just nation," she wrote on social media.

Following her victory, she also pledged to fight for lower living costs, higher wages for workers and voting rights.

Strickland served as mayor of Tacoma, Washington, from 2010 to 2018. In 2020, she became the first Black person elected to Congress from Washington state.

She drew attention from the Korean media when she wore a traditional Korean hanbok during her swearing-in ceremony in January 2021, when she first took office in Congress.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Dave Min of California's 47th district declared victory shortly after vote counting began in his race against Republican Jenny Rae Le Roux.

Min led his rival 56.74 percent to 43.26 percent with 59 percent of the vote counted. Decision Desk HQ had projected Min's win although the AP had not yet declared a winner.

"Tonight's sweeping victory, for myself and for Democrats across the nation, up and down the ballot, is a repudiation of Donald Trump and his Republican rubber stamps," Min said. "It's time to restore the American dream."

In Oklahoma, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cyndi Munson lost to Republican Mike Mazzei, falling short in her bid to become the first Korean American U.S. governor in history.

Oklahoma has been a Republican stronghold, with the party holding the governorship since 2011.

In California's 40th district, Republican Rep. Young Kim was trailing fellow Republican incumbent Ken Calvert in a closely watched contest between two sitting House members.

With 41 percent of the vote counted, Calvert had received 54.52 percent, compared with Kim's 45.48 percent.

The two Republican incumbent representatives were forced into the same district following congressional redistricting and advanced to the general election after Calvert secured 34.9 percent of the vote and Kim garnered 20.6 percent in the June primary.

The outcome of the race remained uncertain at the time of the initial count, with additional mail-in ballots yet to be tallied.