Democrat · California's 28th District · 2026
Judy Chu
Chu grew up as one of four children in South Los Angeles, with a mother who had come from China after World War II.
Biography
Judy Chu grew up in South Los Angeles, one of four children.1 Before Congress, she spent twenty years teaching in the Los Angeles community college system.2 She and her husband, Mike Eng, have long made their home in Monterey Park.3
She earned her UCLA bachelor's degree in 1974 and a doctorate at the California School of Professional Psychology in 1979.2 Her elected career began on the Garvey school board in 1985, followed by Monterey Park's council and mayoralty, the California Assembly and the state's elected tax board. In 2009, she became the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress.3
Chu works on tax, health and retirement policy through Ways and Means. Her record includes the congressional resolution expressing regret for the Chinese Exclusion Act, support for the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and programs assisting small businesses. Her campaign also highlights federal recovery assistance after the Eaton Fire.4
She has reintroduced the Women's Health Protection Act, a proposal to protect abortion access nationwide.5 She has also advocated language access and representation for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.4 Chu faces Republican April Verlato, an attorney and former Arcadia mayor campaigning on jobs, border security, fiscal responsibility and veterans' care.6
Record and controversies
2014 House ethics reproval
In December 2014, the House Ethics Committee publicly reproved Chu for interfering with an investigation through improper communications with two staff members.7 The underlying inquiry found limited campaign work using official resources, but did not find that Chu knew or should have known about that work. She said she had intended to ease a staff member's anxiety and expressed regret for the contact.7 The committee said the interference violated House rules, issued its letter of reproval and closed the matter.7 This was a committee reproval, not a criminal conviction or a vote of censure by the full House.