Battle for California's House District 45 heats up between Steel, Tran

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - The battle between Michelle Steel and Derek Train for California's 45th Congressional District is heating up in the days before the upcoming election. 

Louise Larsen is one of the many campaign volunteers knocking on doors and leaving campaign door hangers in a last-minute effort to drive voter turnout. That's what many campaign volunteers across Southern California were doing the weekend before Election Day. 

Larsen is canvassing neighborhoods for Democrat Derek Tran, who told FOX 11, "I am ready to win this." But it's not over yet. Both Democrat Derek Tran and Republican Michelle Steel have little time left to convince any undecided voters to join their side.

Steel's campaign issues include cracking down on crime, stopping inflation, lowering taxes, and securing the border. Tran says, "Look, the momentum is on our side." On the Sunday before Election Day, Tran brought out the big guns: the Governor, the Congressman who aspires to be Senator, and the state Attorney General.

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Tran's issues include a woman's right to choose, stopping price gouging, and reducing the cost of healthcare, among others. In addition, Tran is spotlighting a National Public Radio report alleging misuse of COVID funds in 2020 by Michelle Steel when she was an Orange County supervisor. He echoed their claim by saying, "Michelle Steel funneled 1.2 million dollars meant for feeding needy seniors to her campaign political mail handler."

In a one-on-one interview, Tran said, "It's not good, and people are ready for a change." When asked if he wants an investigation, he told us, "Absolutely."

FOX 11 reached out to Michelle Steel's campaign and offered them the opportunity to discuss their final argument. When explaining we wanted to know Steel's reaction to the NPR report, they canceled the interview, and Campaign Spokesperson Lance Trover issued a statement saying, "Derek Tran is a liar and a sleazy trial attorney who enriched himself by working for sexual predators, filing frivolous lawsuits, and blaming the women. So it's no surprise that in a pathetic last-minute ploy, he is lying about Michelle's program that provided 50,000 meals to Orange County senior citizens and supported restaurants during COVID."

To Gov. Gavin Newsom, this race in the 45th District, is the one he is most interested in, adding, "But, my real reason for being here is to thank you more importantly for the work you'll do over the next 48 hours."

And, no doubt, for Derek Tran, Michelle Steele or any of those running for office, these final hours are critical.