Ling Ling Chang (born July 24, 1976) is an American politician who formerly served 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.
...
, representing the
29th district, encompassing parts of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
** Orange juice
*Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...
, and
San Bernardino
San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...
counties.
Prior to being elected to the state Senate, she was a
Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 census listed a population of 55,072. It is one of a few cities in California with a majority Asian population (59.24% as of 2020). It is named after the ...
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
woman and a
state Assemblywoman for the
55th district.
Chang is a
Republican. She was also the first Taiwanese-born American elected to the state Assembly, and was the only Asian American woman in the California Legislature during her terms in office.
In 2016, Chang was a candidate for
California's 29th State Senate district
California's 29th senatorial district is one of 40 California California State Senate, State Senate districts. It is currently represented by of .
District profile
The district straddles the intersection of three counties: Los Angeles Coun ...
, losing the general election very narrowly to Democrat
Josh Newman.
After Newman was recalled by voters in 2018, Chang won a plurality of votes
on the recall ballot and became the state Senator for California's 29th district.
Chang narrowly lost re-election to Josh Newman in the
2020 election.
Early life and education
Born in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, Chang and her family emigrated to the United States when she was three years old.
She was raised in
Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 census listed a population of 55,072. It is one of a few cities in California with a majority Asian population (59.24% as of 2020). It is named after the ...
and graduated from
Diamond Bar High School
Diamond Bar High School (DBHS) is a public high school located in Diamond Bar, California, as part of the Walnut Valley Unified School District.
Diamond Bar High School's mascot is the Brahma, and the school colors are purple and gold. Diamond ...
. She studied biology at
UC Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in ...
but did not graduate.
[ She was criticized during her 2014 campaign for claims that she attended ]Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
when she was in fact taking online classes through Harvard Extension School
Harvard Extension School (HES) is the Continuing education, continuing education School of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1910, it is o ...
, the university's online extension program which is open to the general public.
Career
Chang worked at Strategy Insights Group. In 2005, she was elected to the Walnut Valley
A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an invol ...
Water District Board and was then elected twice to the Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 census listed a population of 55,072. It is one of a few cities in California with a majority Asian population (59.24% as of 2020). It is named after the ...
City Council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
.
California State Assembly
Chang was elected to the California Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
Neithe ...
in the 55th district in 2014 and had five bills signed into law in her first seven months in office.[ She also proposed bills seeking to cut business regulations.]
2016 State Senate run
Chang was the Republican candidate for California's 29th State Senate district
California's 29th senatorial district is one of 40 California California State Senate, State Senate districts. It is currently represented by of .
District profile
The district straddles the intersection of three counties: Los Angeles Coun ...
in the 2016 election. She ran against two Democrats, former Irvine Irvine may refer to:
Places On Earth Antarctica
*Irvine Glacier
* Mount Irvine (Antarctica)
Australia
* Irvine Island
* Mount Irvine, New South Wales
Canada
* Irvine, Alberta
* Irvine Inlet, Nunavut
Scotland
*Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...
Mayor Sukhee Kang
Sukhee Kang (; born 15 September 1952) is an American Democratic Party politician from Orange County, California. From 2008 to 2012, Kang served as Mayor of Irvine, California, the first Korean American to serve as mayor of a major American cit ...
and veteran Josh Newman to succeed Bob Huff
Robert S. Huff (born September 9, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who was the California State Senate minority leader and Senate Republican leader from January 5, 2012, until August 27, 2015. He represented the Senate's 29th D ...
in 2016 due to term limits.
As of October 2016, Chang had raised more than $4 million.[ She made public comments distancing herself from Republican presidential nominee ]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 ...
. In November 2016, with 49.6% of the vote, Chang lost the general election to Democrat Josh Newman.
2018 State Senate special recall election
On June 5, 2018, Chang won a recall election for the same State Senate seat that she had lost to Josh Newman two years earlier. Newman was targeted for recall by the Republican Party of California in an attempt to break the Democratic super majority in the Senate, though the campaign also emphasized Newman's vote to increase gas and vehicle taxes to fund infrastructure improvements.
2020 State Senate election
In 2020 Chang lost the election to serve a full term in the State Senate. She lost the 2020 rematch to Josh Newman by a margin about three times larger than she had lost in 2016.
Personal life
Chang is married to Andrew Wong, an attorney.[
]
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Ling Ling
American politicians of Taiwanese descent
American women of Taiwanese descent in politics
Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in California
California politicians of Chinese descent
Republican Party California state senators
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
Living people
Taiwanese emigrants to the United States
1976 births
21st-century American women politicians
Women state legislators in California
Harvard Extension School alumni
Asian conservatism in the United States
21st-century members of the California State Legislature