Michelle Steel for the first time over the weekend in the 45th Congressional District race — after initially trailing by thousands of votes. The consumer rights attorney and co-owner of a pharmacy with his wife Michelle is currently 36 votes ahead of the two-term incumbent — the vote count sits at 152,

The race to represent Little Saigon and the rest of the 45th congressional district is coming down to the wire, with the ballot count released Friday night showing challenger Derek Tran, a Democrat who lives in Orange, closing the gap on Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, to just 58 votes.

Democratic challenger Derek Tran took the narrow lead over incumbent Republican Michelle Steel in the race for Orange County’s 45th Congressional District, giving Democrats an edge in one of the most competitive districts in the country.

Derek Tran took a slight edge over Rep. Michelle Steel in California’s 45th congressional district on Saturday, Nov. 16, nearly two weeks after Election Day. Saturday’s count showed Tran leading by 36 votes.

The latest results in OC’s most competitive congressional race showed Republican Michelle Steel holding a lead over Democrat Derek Tran.

Republican Rep. Michelle Steel leads Democrat Derek Tran 52.5% (117,378 votes) to 47.5% (106,015 votes) in the race for California's 45th congressional district, early results reported on Wednesday show.