David Pan was a registered Democrat until earlier this year. Now, as a Republican, he is trying his hand at flipping the bluest congressional district in Orange County.
Pan, who has taught German language, history, literature and culture at UC Irvine since 2006, is vying for the 46th congressional district represented by Democratic Rep. Lou Correa in a race that, so far, was on track to go uncontested.
It’s his experience in academia, Pan said, that caused him to switch parties.
“I have been frustrated with the way in which debates in the university have been somewhat constrained,” Pan said. “Particularly in terms of issues like affirmative action. We need to focus on merit, hard work and taking responsibility.”
“Those have increasingly become Republican values than Democratic ones,” he said, “and I really feel that I’ve been in the wrong party for several years.”
While he consistently voted for Democratic candidates for most of his life, over the last several years, Pan said he’d look at candidates and their values, not the party letter next to their name.
“My goal is to find some common ground between the parties to make real change,” Pan, an Irvine resident, said. “Opposition politics doesn’t make room for real change. We need to get moderates on both sides on board.”
“I’m by no means a conservative Republican,” he added. “The issues that I’m running on — public safety, school choice, bringing down inflation — they’re what everybody can sign on to.”
Pan said elected Democrats in the area, including Correa, have not pushed hard enough to rein in crime and homelessness or improve schools and academic performances.
“The 46th district is home to a lot of poorly performing schools, and that’s really upsetting to me,” Pan said. Several Santa Ana, Anaheim and Fullerton schools are rated low on academic performance by the California School Dashboard published by the California Department of…
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