Former Biden White House aide whose grandfather was a diplomat and father a senior US official
Dan Koh, 41, a Korean American politician of the Jeju Koh clan whose Korean name is Ko Won-young, won election to the US House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, becoming the seventh Korean American ever elected to the federal legislature.
According to the Associated Press, Koh defeated Republican Micah Quincy Jones in the race for Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District on Tuesday (local time).
The AP called the race at around 10:24 p.m. With 14 percent of votes counted as of 10:26 p.m., Koh led with 62.7 percent against Jones's 37.3 percent. The 6th District is a Democratic stronghold; the Cook Political Report had classified it as "Solid Democratic."
With his victory, Koh becomes the seventh Korean American ever elected to Congress, joining former Rep. Jay Kim (Republican, California), current Sen. Andy Kim (Democrat, New Jersey), former Rep. Michelle Steel (Republican, California), and current Reps. Young Kim (Republican, California), Marilyn Strickland (Democrat, Washington) and Dave Min (Democrat, California).
Koh was born to a Korean father and a Lebanese mother, and carries the Jeju Koh family name from his father's side.
His grandfather, Ko Kwang-lim, a native of Jeju Island, served as minister and chargé d'affaires at the Korean Embassy in Washington in the early 1960s and was an international law scholar. His father, Howard Ko (Ko Kyung-joo), a Harvard University professor, served as assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services under the Barack Obama administration.
His uncle, Harold Koh (Ko Hong-joo), served as dean of Yale Law School and as legal adviser to the Department of State under the Obama administration.
Koh graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Business School, then served as chief of staff to former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. He went on to serve as a senior White House aide in the Joe Biden administration, building a career across both local and federal government.
During the campaign, he received endorsements from former President Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Koh had previously run for Congress in 2018, seeking the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District, but lost in the primary.
Returning to the race eight years later, Koh ran on campaign pledges to ease the cost of living, support working- and middle-class families, defend democracy and check the policies of the Donald Trump administration. In an earlier interview with Yonhap, he expressed interest in strengthening the US-South Korea alliance, promoting diversity in American society and addressing the financial burdens facing ordinary people.
mokiya@heraldcorp.com
