Climate Candidate Briefing:

Jay Chen (CA-45)

Candidate Type: Challenger

Party: Democratic

Race Status & Polling

Jay Chen’s race has been changed from a toss-up to a lean Republican. He is challenging incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel, attempting to flip the seat. This section will be updated with district-specific poll results as they are published.

California’s 45th Congressional District

California’s new 45th congressional district is located in southern California between Los Angeles County and Orange County. The redrawn district has a D+5 partisan lean.

Climate impacts:

Climate attitudes (note: this data was collected prior to the district’s new partisan composition.):

  • According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 75% of voters in CA-45 are concerned about climate change, while 75% believe it will harm future generations (above the national average).

  • Sixty-two percent believe Congress should do more about climate change, and 55% believe climate change should be a “high priority” for the next president and Congress, which is comparable to the national average.

  • Climate issues are discussed by less than half the electorate. Only 40% indicated they talk about climate change even “occasionally,” but this is above the national average of 35%.

Jay’s Climate Position & Record

Jay Chen has been publicly vocal about the need to address climate change on social media, particularly from a national security perspective. Read more on his GiveGreen profile.

The Opposition

Jay is challenging a sitting member of Congress, Rep. Michelle Steel. Rep. Steel has received a 10% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters, meaning she has almost never taken a pro-environment vote.

Concurrent Elections

In 2022, California also has a statewide gubernatorial election.

Key Dates and Resources

  • October 10: Vote by mail begins

  • October 24: Voter registration deadline

  • November 8: General election (mailed ballots must be postmarked by this date)

Resources

Follow @JFChen on Twitter to stay up to date!