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NEWS & PRESS UPDATES

Jul
24
2024
PRESS RELEASE

Corrupt Michelle Steel's $1M Loan Exposed as Lifeline for Struggling Campaign

Garden Grove, CA — In one of the most closely watched contests of the 2024 cycle, Derek Tran outraised incumbent GOP Representative Michelle Steel even as Steel attempted to mask her campaign's struggles with almost $1 million in personal loans, including a last-minute loan at the very end of the most recent fundraising quarter. Rep. Steel made her fortune as a business partner to her husband Shawn Steel, who the Wall Street Journal and Orange County Register caught peddling political access to the Chinese Communist Party.

Michelle Steel’s supposed fundraising juggernaut is clearly not what it appears. Over the course of the campaign, Steel has loaned herself nearly $1 million, a desperate move to inflate her campaign numbers. She repeated this tactic on June 30th, just hours before the reporting deadline, attempting to catch up to Derek Tran’s strong fundraising numbers—and yet still missed. Adding to her problems, Steel’s campaign shows an incredibly high burn rate, spending $500,000 – more than 60% of what she raised outside of her desperate last-minute loan over the most recent quarter. 

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Orange County Register, donors with ties to the Chinese Communist Party gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump’s re-election campaign in exchange for access, efforts facilitated by Shawn Steel. The money Shawn Steel made peddling influence has now apparently found its way into Michelle Steel's campaign coffers through her massive loans – once again raising serious questions about her commitment to opposing communist governments.

“Our campaign is about genuine support from the people, not self-loans, special interest contributions and deceptive tactics,” said Derek Tran. “Michelle Steel’s financial maneuvers are a clear sign of desperation. The fact that her campaign chest is buoyed by finances connected to her husband's dealings with Chinese Communist Party associates will only further alienate a district hungry for real, authentic representation."

The news of Steel’s shady fundraising tactics comes on the heels of new polling from Tulchin Research that shows Derek Tran in a statistical tie with MAGA Republican Michelle Steel.  An analysis of the March 5, 2024 primary results shows a vulnerable Steel significantly underperformed with voters compared to 2022 and is in serious risk of losing her seat. As the November elections approach, Derek Tran stands poised to flip this key district from red to blue, riding a wave of support for his pragmatic platform and commitment to middle-class families.

During her time in Congress, Michelle Steel has consistently voted against the interests of her community while relying on funding from Big Oil, gun lobbyists, and anti-abortion extremists. Despite her claims of representing middle-class values, Steel has opposed measures to lower prescription drug costs, including voting against capping the price of insulin. She voted against common-sense gun safety legislation such as raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 and against enhanced background checks– a slap in the face to her constituents who have been devastated by the scourge of mass shootings. Further distancing herself from the needs of Orange County, she voted against a bill to strengthen U.S. competitiveness and bring jobs home, and against the bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection.  Steel’s fealty to the MAGA Right knows no bounds– even going so far as to apologize to GOP supporters for working on a bipartisan bill to condemn hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

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