David Kunnghee Min (born March 5, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

California's 47th congressional district California's 47th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Following the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, 2020 redistricting cycle, the district shifted to Orange County, California, Orange Co ...

since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 37th district in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

from 2020 to 2024, which includes portions of Orange County. He was an assistant law professor at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

prior to being elected to office. Min ran in the 2018 election to represent

California's 45th congressional district California's 45th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California currently represented by Democrat Derek Tran. The 45th district was created as a result of the 1980 United States redistricting cycle, redistri ...

but was defeated in the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

by incumbent Congresswoman

Mimi Walters Marian Elaine "Mimi" Walters (née Krogius; born May 14, 1962) is an American businesswoman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served from 2015 to 2019 as the U.S. representative for California's 45th congressional distric ...

and fellow UC Irvine professor Katie Porter, who went on to defeat Walters in the general election. He was elected to the state senate in the 2020 elections after defeating

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

mayor and future

Orange County Board of Supervisors The Orange County Board of Supervisors is the five-member governing body of Orange County, California, along with being the executive of the county. Membership The board consists of five supervisors elected by districts to four-year terms by t ...

member Katrina Foley in the primary and then by narrowly defeating incumbent Republican

John Moorlach Johannes Meindert Willem Moorlach (born December 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as a member of the California State Senate representing 37th Senate district, which includes portions of Orange County, from 2015 to 2020. He was na ...

in the November election. Min defeated Republican nominee Scott Baugh in the 2024 election to represent

Early life and career

Min was born on March 5, 1976, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and raised in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. His parents immigrated to the United States from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in 1972 to pursue doctoral degrees at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, earning

bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in economics from the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

and a

bachelor of arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in philosophy from the School of Arts and Sciences, both in 1999. He then attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 2002. After graduating from

, Min worked in financial regulation as a staff attorney at the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

, Banking Committee counsel for Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

, and counsel and senior policy advisor for the

Joint Economic Committee The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic co ...

. He joined the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy think tank, research and advocacy organization which presents a Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal viewpoint on Economic policy, economic and social issues. CAP is headquarter ...

, a left-wing

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, in 2009 as its associate director for financial markets policy and supervisor of its Mortgage Finance Working Group. He became an assistant law professor at the

in 2012 and focused on

banking law Banking regulation and supervision refers to a form of financial regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, enforced by a financial regulatory authority generally referred to as banking supervisor, with ...

capital markets A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers t ...

, and real estate finance. The same year, he testified about the impact of Dodd-Frank Financial Regulations to the House Financial Services Subcommittee. He passed the California bar exam in 2022.

Early political career

2018 congressional campaign

Min announced his House candidacy on April 5, 2017, challenging incumbent Rep.

. Min stated he was inspired to run for Congress after President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

temporarily suspended immigration from certain predominantly Muslim countries, which he said was a "slap in the face" to the son of two immigrants. Min said there is a new "groundswell of political consciousness" nationally among

Korean Americans Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnicity, Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Kore ...

, with people starting to feel comfortable enough to enter politics. Min received the endorsement of the

California Democratic Party The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento, the state capital. With 46.59% of the state's registered voters as of February 2024, the Democratic ...

at its State Convention in February 2018 after a contentious floor fight where he barely received the necessary 60% of the vote. Min criticized Walters for living outside of the district and for refusing to hold public or in-person town halls. Min came in third place in the primary election behind Walters and Katie Porter. Porter went on to win the general election.

California State Senate

On January 9, 2019, Min announced his campaign against State Senator

to represent the

California's 37th State Senate district California's 37th senatorial district is one of 40 California California State Senate, State Senate districts. It is currently represented by of . District profile The district encompasses central Orange County, California, Orange County, ...

. In the primary election, Min defeated

Mayor Katrina Foley, thus advancing to the general election to face Moorlach. Min narrowly defeated Moorlach in the fall of 2020 with 51.2% of the vote. He assumed office on December 7, 2020. His term lasts four years. While in office, Min introduced legislation related to violence, including bills to expand protections for survivors of domestic abuse, study harassment on California's transit systems, make child custody cases private by default, and reduce gun shows and sales on state-owned property. Min also introduced legislation to facilitate the termination of offshore oil drilling leases in Orange County following the 2021

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

oil spill, but it died following opposition from the oil industry and trade unions. Some lawmakers, including Bob Hertzberg, expressed concerns about the cost of Min's proposed legislation.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2024

Min announced a second campaign for Congress in January 2023, running for

. Katie Porter, the incumbent representative who defeated Min in the 2018 congressional primary, vacated the seat to run in the 2024 United States Senate election in California and endorsed Min to succeed her. After Min was arrested and convicted for a DUI, former representative Harley Rouda called for him to drop out of the race. Min declined to leave the race. He finished second in the top two primary for CA-47 and advanced to the general election. He faced Scott Baugh, a former assemblymember who was Porter's opponent in 2022. The Associated Press projected Min to be the winner of the election on November 13.

Tenure

Min was sworn in on January 3, 2025. Min voted against a controversial bill, backed by over 60 House Democrats that would make sexual and domestic violence deportable offenses. In 2025, Min was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources ** Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries *

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

** Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs

Caucus membership

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Caucus, ...

Personal life

Min is married to Jane Stoever, a clinical professor of law at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

. She works on domestic violence issues. They have three children. He is

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. Min was arrested in Sacramento for

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

in 2023. He had a

blood alcohol level Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes. BAC is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume of blood. In US and many i ...

nearly twice the legal limit and did not have his headlights on when he was pulled over for driving through a red light. Min pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to three years informal probation. The ''Anaheim Observer'' reported that "instead of quitting the race, Min announced he is quitting drinking," citing a social media post of Min's.

Electoral history

2018

2020

2024

References

External links

*
Campaign websiteJoin California Dave Min
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Min, Dave 1976 births 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century members of the California State Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives California Democrats California lawyers California politicians of Korean descent Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Harvard Law School alumni Living people Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent Politicians from Greater Los Angeles University of California, Irvine faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni Episcopalians from California