California tech exec joins crowded field for Valley Congressional district. Who is she?
A Republican tech executive who is vying to replace former Congressman Devin Nunes will also run for the U.S. House of Representatives in a left-leaning San Joaquin Valley district that political analysts say could go to either party in 2022.
The candidate, Elizabeth Heng, challenged Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, in 2018 for a congressional district that overlapped with much of this new one.
But thanks to redistricting, the once-a-decade redrawing of legislative boundaries, Costa is running in a Fresno-anchored district south of this one. The new 13th Congressional District, where Heng said she will run, is home to an election that could help determine whether Republicans reclaim control of the House, according to major election trackers.
“We need fresh faces with bold ideas to fight for the future of our community. We’ve been talking about the exact same issues in the Valley for as long as I can remember, but nothing has changed,” Heng said in announcing her bid on Sunday.
Though the district — which holds Merced County in a stretch from Coalinga through Modesto — leans Democratic, members of the same party as the president historically do not do as well as members from the opposite party in congressional elections.
And there is no incumbent running there; incumbents normally have an advantage over newcomers. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, who could have run for the seat, moved his campaign north when fellow Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney said he would not seek election in the Stockton-centered district in 2022.
Instead, Heng joins a crowded race with Republicans Matt Stoll, a former fighter pilot who also is running in the special election to replace Nunes, and Diego Martinez, a businessman who ran in the recall election against California Gov. Gavin Newsom. She faces Democrats Assemblyman Adam Gray and former Nunes challenger Phil Arballo.
She also contests first-time candidates Angelina Sigala, a Democrat and infectious disease expert, and Republican businessman David Giglio.
Heng founded The New Internet, which offers an encrypted internet browser that aims to increase user privacy, after advocating for the decentralization of Big Tech during her 2018 campaign for the House. She lost to Costa by a margin of 15% of the votes.
Heng, 37, is the daughter of Cambodian refugees who escaped the regime of the Khmer Rouge. Growing up, she worked in their grocery store in Fresno.
She started her career in politics as the regional victory director for the Republican Party of Oregon in 2010. She was a staffer in Washington, D.C., for former California Rep. Ed Royce, a Republican, and was his deputy campaign manager in 2012.
After, she became the chief of protocol and member outreach for the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Heng was appointed by the Senate Rules Committee as the director of congressional staff volunteers for Trump’s inauguration ceremony before she left Washington.
She holds degrees from Yale and Stanford University.
Heng will continue running for the seat vacated by Nunes when he left to be the chief executive officer of former President Donald Trump’s social media company. The position to represent the current right-leaning 22nd district will last about six months before Congress enters a new session with representatives for the newly-drawn districts.
Her campaigns are built on the same platforms: bolstering water infrastructure and access, pushing immigration reform, addressing education gaps and tackling affordability policies for the Central Valley.
“I have a proven record that I am unafraid to battle anyone, including the tech giants, who attempt to silence our voices or who promote policies that hurt our community,” Heng said. “It’s time to get to work.”
