The state Senate race for the 37th district in south and central Orange County features two veteran lawmakers.
Democratic Sen. Josh Newman, a Fullerton resident who currently represents the 29th Senate District, is running against Steven Choi, a former Republican Assembly member from Irvine. The district has a slight Democratic lean and is one of the more competitive races. Incumbent Democrat Dave Min vacated the seat to run for U.S. House of Representatives.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Newman is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. He’s active in the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan confab to promote moderate policy solutions. But he can be a Democratic partisan, as he champions his fight against MAGA Republicans.
He’s endorsed by unions, but opposed a union-priority measure to expand labor protections to University of California union employees – and sparked a failed union effort to derail his primary campaign. Republicans recalled him in 2018 after he cast a key vote in favor of raising the gas tax. We opposed the recall at the time. Newman won back the seat in 2020.
Newman is thoughtful and has taken some moderate positions (such as supporting the tough-on-crime Proposition 36), but votes mostly with his caucus. Our sense is he’s as moderate as he needs to be in the district, but can be counted on to support Democratic priorities when it matters.
Choi’s record is far less difficult to assess. He’s a steady, predictable right-of-center legislator who will reliably back his party’s priorities. He scored 100 percent on the National Federation of Independent Business’ scorecard. He’s a solid vote on tax and regulatory matters. He’s conservative but no culture warrior. An immigrant from South Korea, he has taken constructive positions on immigration.
Choi doesn’t have a compelling list of legislative accomplishments, but as a member of the legislative minority that’s not entirely his fault. Currently, the state Senate has 31 Democrats and only nine Republicans. Our state desperately needs more political competition and believe Choi to be an experienced and sensible lawmaker to help balance things out.
