Tran a 'Young Gun' in race against Sanchez

National Republicans have named Assemblyman Van Tran a “Young Gun” candidate in his central Orange County race to unseat Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, a designation that brings with it national attention – and likely national funding.
Tran was one of 18 congressional candidates to win the designation Thursday as the National Republican Congressional Committee revs its engines for the November elections. Polls and pundits have suggested that Republicans could pick up seats in the House when Americans, frustrated with the economy, go to the polls on Nov. 2.

Sanchez still holds a slim lead by all counts in the 47th District, which includes the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove and parts of Anaheim and Fullerton. Her campaign reacted quickly to the Young Guns announcement, warning in an e-mail to supporters that the stakes “just got higher.”
The Young Guns program singles out Republican candidates who have shown they can raise money and mount aggressive campaigns. It rewards them with a better chance of getting national financial support, and puts their names in front of the Republican Party and its donors.
“Van’s campaign is a symbol of the growing momentum behind Republican candidates in California and across the country,” committee chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said in a statement issued by the Tran campaign.
The Sanchez campaign shot back: “I’m not surprised by the national Republicans’ decision to promote Van Tran to their ‘Young Guns’ list – he certainly shares their misguided values,” campaign manager Jessica Mejia wrote in a statement of her own.

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