Steel's win comes as the district is undergoing changes. Once regarded as a Republican stronghold, Orange County has proven to be a battleground district in the past few election cycles. An estimated 38% of county residents registered as Democrats, just edging out Republicans, at just over 32% as of this year. Another quarter reported no party preference.

The political shift has been driven by the growth of the Asian American and Pacific Islander population in the area. From 2000 to 2010, the population surged by more than 40% in Orange County. Today, they make up more than a third of the electorate in the district. Among them, almost half are Vietnamese Americans who, while tending to lean right, split with the GOP on issues like health care and tax redistribution, Janelle Wong, senior researcher at the nonprofit group AAPI Data, told NBC News.

With a win that in part hinged on the Asian American vote, the race, at times, got nasty, with both candidates fighting to portray themselves as authentic representatives of the community. Throughout the election cycle, the issue of China emerged as a central point of contention. Experts say that similar focus has been used in past campaigns to appeal to the area’s older Vietnamese population, which associates upheaval with communism due to the Vietnam War.

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