Kathy Tran

Kathy Tran (born 1978) is an American politician who currently serves in the Virginia House of Delegates. A Democrat, she represents the 18th House of Delegates district.

Kathy Tran
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2018
Preceded by	Dave Albo
Constituency	42nd district (2018–2024) 18th district (2024–present)
Personal details
Born	1978 (age 45–46) Vietnam
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Matthew Reisman
Children	5
Residence	West Springfield, Virginia
Alma mater	Duke University (BA) University of Michigan (MSW)

Early life and career

Born in Vietnam, Tran and her parents fled as boat refugees when she was seven months old.^[1] She is a Duke University graduate with a Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Michigan.^[2] After graduating, she worked for the advocacy group National Immigration Forum.^[3]

House of Delegates

Elections

Tran decided to run for the House in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump.^[4] She ran in the 42nd district, which was then an open seat after Republican Delegate Dave Albo announced his retirement.^[5] She faced retired social worker Tilly Blanding in the June 2017 Democratic primary and won with 54 percent of the vote.^[6]

Tran faced Republican Lolita Mancheno-Smoak, an engineer and Ecuadoran immigrant, in the general election.^[7] Republicans accused Democrats of racist smears after the Democratic Party of Virginia sent a mailer to voters depicting Mancheno-Smoak's face next to images of a werewolf and a hockey mask reminiscent of a horror movie with the headline, "This Halloween season, protect your family from the scariest threats."^[8] Tran denied that the mailer was racist, saying, "The mailer highlights the frankly scary policies that my opponent supports that would threaten funding for schools, threaten access to affordable health care, and threaten funding for Planned Parenthood. This is what is at stake in our election."^[8] Tran defeated Mancheno-Smoak in the general election, receiving 61% of the vote.^[9]

Tenure

Tran and Kelly Convirs-Fowler were the first Asian-American women to be elected to Virginia's House of Delegates in November 2017.^[10] She is the first Vietnamese American elected official on any level in the Commonwealth.^{[citation needed]}

She currently serves on the Privileges and Elections and the Science and Technology committees in the Virginia House of Delegates.^{[citation needed]}

Abortion bill

Main article: Repeal Act (Virginia)

On the first day of the 2019 legislative session, Tran introduced the Repeal Act, a bill that would have reduced the number of physicians required to approve a third-term abortion in Virginia (from three to one), and lower the threshold for approval to "any medical reason" from the previous requirement of the pregnant woman being “substantially and irredeemably” harmed by continuing the pregnancy.^[11][12][13] The Repeal Act would have also allowed second-trimester abortions to be performed in clinics instead of hospitals and would remove the requirement that an ultrasound be performed before an abortion.^[11][14][15] While testifying in the House of Delegates, questioned by Republican Delegate Todd Gilbert, Tran replied to questions about the contents of the bill,^[3] saying it allowed abortions up to the point of dilating, which drew accusations from Republicans of attempting to legalize infanticide.^[12][13] "My bill would allow that, yes," Tran said in response to Gilbert's question. The bill failed to pass the state legislature, but video of Tran's exchange with Gilbert went viral after being shared by conservative media outlets.^[12][16] Tran suspended her social media accounts in response to threats against herself and her family.^[12][3]

Electoral history

Democratic Primary, 42nd House of Delegates District, June 13, 2017^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Tran	3,977	53.64
	Democratic	Tilly Blanding	3,437	46.36
Total votes			7,414	100

42nd House of Delegates District, General Election, November 7, 2017^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Tran	18,761	60.97
	Republican	Lolita Mancheno-Smoak	11,967	38.89
	Independent	Write-in candidates	45	0.15
Total votes			30,773	100

42nd House of Delegates District, General Election, November 5, 2019^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Tran	16,167	59.66
	Republican	Steve Adragna	10,903	40.23
	Independent	Write-in candidates	30	0.11
Total votes			27,100	100

42nd House of Delegates District, General Election, November 2, 2021^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Tran	21,374	60.0
	Republican	Ed McGovern	14,186	39.8
	Independent	Write-in candidates	56	0.2
Total votes			35,616	100

Personal life

Tran is married and the mother of five children.^[21]

See also

• 2017 Virginia House of Delegates election

References

1. "Kathy Tran for Delegate". Kathy Tran for Delegate. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
2. Chen, Lily (2017-08-29). "Virginia Candidate Kathy Tran and Her Passion for Public Service". Asian Fortune. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
3. Antonio Olivo (January 31, 2019). "Until this week, Del. Kathy Tran was known for nursing her daughter on the House floor. Now Republicans are calling her a baby killer". Washington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
4. Marans, Daniel (2017-03-29). "Donald Trump's Election Could Be A Windfall For Virginia Democrats". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
5. Moomaw, Graham (2017-04-05). "Del. Dave Albo, head of House courts, won't seek re-election". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
6. Iacone, Amanda (2017-06-13). "Pr. William Co. backs Stewart; N.Va. Democrats support Northam". WTOP. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
7. Pope, Michael Lee (2017-09-21). "A Tale of Two Immigrants". Connection Newspapers. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
8. Nirappil, Fenit (2017-10-24). "Mailers against Virginia Latina candidates have both parties alleging racial insensitivity". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
9. Nirappil, Fenit (2017-11-08). "Democrats make significant gains in Virginia legislature; control of House in play". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
10. Park, Madison (November 8, 2017). "Election night brings historic wins for minority and LGBT. candidates". CNN. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
11. Sarah Jones (January 31, 2019). "Here Are the Facts Behind an Abortion Controversy Engulfing Virginia Democrats". Daily Intelligencer. New York. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
12. Gregory S. Schneider; Laura Vozzella (January 30, 2019). "Abortion bill draws GOP outrage against Va. Gov. Northam, Democratic legislators". Washington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
13. Alan Suderman (January 30, 2019). "Virginia abortion feud erupts; governor blasted for comments". Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
14. Arianna Coghill; Emily Holter (January 18, 2019). "Northam, top state officials vow to protect women's reproductive rights". The Virginia Gazette. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
15. "HB 2491 Abortion; eliminate certain requirements". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
16. Graham Moomaw (January 30, 2019). "UPDATED: Trump reacts after Va. Republicans share video of lawmaker backing late-term abortions; Democrats call it an 'orchestrated ambush'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
17. 2017 June Democratic Primary - Official Results
18. "2017 November General - Official Results". Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
19. "Virginia Election Results: November 5, 2019".
20. "2021 November General". results.elections.virginia.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
21. "Meet Kathy". Kathy Tran for Delegate. Archived from the original on 2021-11-03. Retrieved 3 November 2021.