ORANGE COUNTY, CA ¨C To date over 100 local elected and community officials have endorsed Young Kim in the race for the 39th Congressional District. The support comes from almost 40 former and current mayors, over 50 City Councilmembers and numerous Board Members from over 15 school districts.See what local elected officials have to say about Young Kim:Virginia Vaughn, Mayor of Buena Park: ¡°Young Kim has been a constant presence in Buena Park. She is committed to working in a bipartisan manner to get results and make positive change for our residents and businesses.¡±Chad Wanke, Mayor of Placentia: ¡°Young Kim will fight for our communities and provide the balanced representation in Congress that we deserve. Young is the only candidate we can trust to get bipartisan results for our communities in Congress.¡±Tim Shaw, Mayor of La Habra: ¡°Young knows the 39th District because it¡¯s her home. She has lived here and represented us. There is no better advocate for La Habra, North Orange County, and the 39th District than Young Kim.¡±Peter Rogers, Mayor of Chino Hills: ¡°Young is someone we can all rely on to be present, listen to our needs, and find a way to solve the issues that we face. Young Kim worked side by side with Congressman Ed Royce to address the Edison power line issues Chino Hills faced and has always been a trusted partner for our city.¡±Nancy Tragarz, Mayor of Walnut: ¡°Young Kim is results oriented, will fight for the San Gabriel Valley and make sure our voice is heard. She is running for the right reasons ¡ª not because she wants to be a member of Congress but because she wants to improve our neighborhoods, cities and region.¡±Gene Hernandez, Mayor of Yorba Linda: ¡°Young has the necessary experience, training, skills and ability to be an outstanding U.S. Representative. She has my wholehearted support and is one of the most energetic people I know.¡±Jennifer Fitzgerald, Councilmember of Fullerton: ¡°I¡¯m so glad to support Young Kim for Congress. Especially in California, congressional districts need representatives who really have the backs of small business owners and taxpayers, and I am confident Young is the right person to represent the 39th Congressional District. Fullerton loves Young Kim!¡±Ruth Low, Mayor of Diamond Bar: ¡°Young Kim is a true public servant. She is always willing to listen to those in need and work towards solutions to the issues we face in our communities.¡±Ted Ebenkamp, Rowland Height Coordinating Council: ¡°Young Kim cares deeply about our community. During her time with Ed Royce, Young Kim worked tirelessly to make Rowland Heights a better place. I trust that Young will do the same in Congress.¡±Young responded to the support saying, ¡°I am overwhelmed by the support I have received across the 39th District in this race. My many years of hard work in our community has resulted in amazing relationships with public servants who know the work and dedication I put into fighting for our constituents. I am ready to take that perseverance to Washington D.C. and get results.¡±To see a full list of Kim¡¯s endorsements, please visit www.YoungKimForCongress.com/Endorsements.The 39th District is made up of parts of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The General Election is set for November 6, 2018.

An unprecedented number of women are chasing political office in the 2018 midterm elections. This month, we're profiling several worthy candidates who are seeking to effect change. While volunteering on the beaches of Guam as a girl, Young Kim and her mother recycled cans and bottles left along the seashore. Eventually the duo collected enough money to help build a church in their community on the U.S. territory. The experience helped form Kim's proclivity for giving back. Now she's aiming for Congress, hoping to bring bipartisan change to Washington.   In 2014, Kim became the first Korean-American woman to be elected to California State Assembly following years as a small business owner and financial analyst. While in State Assembly, she advocated for public safety, in particular for victims of domestic violence, by expanding protections for victims. If elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican candidate from California's 39th district promises to also focus on improving the local economy, lowering taxes, and increasing STEM education funding by reaching across the aisle. “Both sides are to blame [for partisan gridlock],” the former state legislator tells InStyle via email. “We need new perspectives in Washington, and [I want to] provide people with the opportunities they need to succeed, just like I had when I came here as a young girl.” Getting into giving back: “My mission is to serve the people of CA's 39th district,” Kim says. When she was a little girl and recent immigrant from South Korea to the U.S. territory of Guam, Kim and her mother helped to fund the creation of a community church. “This church was the center of our immigrant community,” she says. “This taught me that we have a duty to give back to our community and make it a better place.” Most important issues: “I am a Republican because I believe government needs to get out of the way, lower taxes, and reduce regulation so people and small businesses can thrive,” Kim says. To achieve that, Kim wants to bring bipartisan thinking to Washington, with a focus on building the economy and improving education. “The small businesses in Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties are the backbone of our communities,” Kim explains. “We must work to maintain a thriving and prosperous economy so that people can have the jobs and opportunities they need to flourish and achieve the American Dream.” As a mother of four, she says she takes the importance of a good education to heart and will work to improve the public schooling system. “I know that without a good public education system that supports students and teachers, our children will not be prepared for the jobs and careers of the future,” she says. “I would like to be remembered as a strong mother, wife, and as someone who worked tirelessly on behalf of her community [to make] it a better place.” Community inspiration: Kim finds inspiration in her constituents, including families who’ve been in California for decades as well as small business owners and immigrants who’ve just begun to realize their American dreams. “There are people who have been here for generations and there are those who immigrated here or are first or second-generation Americans that are just starting the first chapter in their American story,” Kim says. “They inspired me to run and deserve strong leadership on the federal level.” Best advice: Kim wants women to leave partisanship at the door. “Be driven by results, not partisanship, and never forget that you serve the people that you represent,” she says. “Partisan gridlock and rhetoric have plagued Congress for too long. We need representatives that work to get results for the people they represent, and work with the other party to do that.”

Kim seen as more in touch, better liked than CisnerosWest Long Branch, NJ ¨C Republican Young Kim holds a slight edge over Democrat Gil Cisneros in the open seat contest for California¡¯s 39th Congressional District, according to the Monmouth University Poll.  More voters give a favorable rating to the GOP candidate and see her as in touch with district residents than say the same about the Democrat. These findings, coupled with lower turnout among Democratic-leaning voter blocs, offset some of the fundamental advantages Cisneros might otherwise have on key issues.Kim is supported by 46% and Cisneros is supported by 42% of all potential voters ¨C that is voters who have participated in an election since 2010 or have newly registered to vote (a group that represents about 85% of all registered voters in the district). Another 12% are undecided.  The Republican¡¯s edge grows, though, when applying two different likely voter models. A historical midterm model gives Kim a 51% to 41% lead over Cisneros. But even a model that projects a possible turnout surge in Democratic precincts still gives Kim a lead of 49% to 43%. Kim¡¯s lead in the standard midterm likely voter model is outside the sample¡¯s margin of error, but the Dem surge model margin is not statistically significant.¡°This district swung from Republican to Democrat in the last presidential election. However, it doesn¡¯t look like Cisneros is generating enough interest among those voters to overcome the district¡¯s historical preference for Republicans at the House level,¡± said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.California¡¯s 39th district voted for Mitt Romney for president in 2012 by 4 points, but swung to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by more than 8 points. However, the Republican incumbent Ed Royce also won re-election two years ago by 14 points.Currently, the Democrat holds a large lead among Hispanic voters (54% to 29%) while the race is very close among Asian voters (43% for Cisneros to 41% for Kim). This advantage is offset by Kim¡¯s 58% to 36% lead among non-Hispanic white voters. Cisneros has been active in Latino philanthropic organizations while Kim, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, would be the first Korean-American woman in Congress if elected.  The district is one of the most ethnically diverse in the country, with sizable Latino and Asian communities, which combined make up a majority of all residents.  However, these groups also have a much lower rate of voting.  Also helping Kim¡¯s standing is that she is leading among white voters with a college degree (53% to 41%) as well as those without (62% to 31%).  This runs counter to the national trend of Democrats winning college-educated white voters.Kim holds a double-digit lead among male voters (52% to 37%) while Cisneros has a smaller edge among female voters (47% to 40%).  Kim holds an advantage among non-Hispanic white men (66% to 30%) and women (51% to 40%).  Cisneros leads among both men (45% to 39%) and women (55% to 29%) from other racial and ethnic groups.¡°Kim is performing much better among white women voters than Republicans in other competitive races Monmouth has polled. It might be that GOP ads about a sexual harassment charge against Cisneros are having an impact. The Me Too movement could be having an impact here, but we can¡¯t tell for sure from this single poll,¡± said Murray.Neither candidate is particularly well-known in the district, but Kim earns a net positive rating of 32% favorable and 11% unfavorable, while Cisneros gets more mixed reviews of 23% favorable and 24% unfavorable.  Nearly half of CA-39 voters (45%) say that Kim, a former one-term assemblywoman, is in touch with the residents of the district while just 18% say she is not. Fewer voters (36%) say Cisneros ¨C a lottery winner who moved into the district last year ¨C is in touch with residents of the districts while 29% say he is not.¡°This was one of the California districts where Democrats were worried that a glut of candidates running in the open primary might leave them without a nominee in November. The DCCC stepped in and elevated Cisneros to their ¡®Red to Blue¡¯ program which forced out another viable contender who ran a strong campaign against Royce in 2012. You have to wonder if the national Dems may have backed the wrong horse here,¡± said Murray.Currently, 56% of CA-39 voters express a lot of interest in the November election for Congress.  This includes 62% of self-identified Republicans, 60% of Democrats, and 48% of independents. Non-Hispanic white voters (63%) are more likely than Hispanic (51%) or Asian (43%) voters to express a lot of interest in the upcoming election.Overall, 47% of district voters approve of the job Donald Trump is doing as president and an identical 47% disapprove. However, more voters strongly disapprove (40%) than strongly approve(32%). The poll finds that 62% of potential CA-39 voters say it is very important for them to cast a vote for Congress that shows how they feel about the president ¨C including 70% of Trump opponents and 65% of Trump supporters. Voters are divided on whether they would rather see Republicans (41%) or Democrats (38%) in control of Congress. Another 19% say that party control does not matter to them.¡°The problem for Cisneros is that the strongest anti-Trump voters are also among the least likely to show up in November. He¡¯s not able to capitalize on a number of fundamentals, such as concerns about health care and dislike of the GOP tax package, that have been boosting Democrats¡¯ chances in other competitive races this cycle,¡± said Murray.When asked to choose the top issue in their vote for Congress from a list of six policy areas, 23% of CA-39 voters choose immigration and 22% pick health care. These issues are followed by gun control (15%), tax policy (14%), job creation (12%), and abortion (7%).  Immigration is the top concern for Kim voters (31%), and she gets the nod among all voters as the candidate they prefer on this issue by a 35% to 25% margin over Cisneros, with 22% saying they trust both candidates equally. Health care is the most important issue for Cisneros voters (37%).  However, Kim is actually trusted more to handle this issue among all voters by a 32% to 27% margin, with 21% saying they would trust both candidates equally on this issue.  The poll also finds that CA-39 voters are divided on the tax reform plan passed by Congress last year ¨C 39% disapprove and 37% approve of it.The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from September 13 to 16, 2018 with 402 voters in California¡¯s 39th Congressional District. The question results in this release have a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 5.7 percentage points for the likely voter models. The error of the gap between the two candidates¡¯ vote share (i.e. the margin of the ¡°lead¡±) is +/-6.9 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 8.0 percentage points for the likely voter models.  The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ.  Read more¡­