Anita Chen
Anita Chen (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 17th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. She advanced from the primary on March 5, 2024.
Chen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Anita Chen was born in San Jose, California. Chen earned an M.B.A. from San Jose State University and as of 2023 was pursuing a Ph.D. in instructional design and technology from Liberty University.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: California's 17th Congressional District election, 2024
California's 17th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 17
Incumbent Ro Khanna and Anita Chen are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 17 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Ro Khanna (D) | |
 | Anita Chen (R)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 17
Incumbent Ro Khanna and Anita Chen defeated Ritesh Tandon, Mario Ramirez, and Joe Dehn in the primary for U.S. House California District 17 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ro Khanna (D) | 62.9 | 74,004 |
| ✔ | | Anita Chen (R) | 26.8 | 31,568 |
 | Ritesh Tandon (D) | 4.9 | 5,738 | |
 | Mario Ramirez (D) | 3.8 | 4,498 | |
 | Joe Dehn (L) | 1.6 | 1,839 | |
| Total votes: 117,647 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Chen received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- California GOP
- Republican Party of California
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Anita Chen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Chen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am Anita Chen. I represent the energy, intelligence and compassion of the next generation of leaders. For years, I avoided politics because I didn’t see anyone who synergized the compassion I felt with the conservative principles I believed. Now, I know choosing between the two is a false dichotomy. I’ve built a campaign hoping to combine the best mix of traditional values, libertarian freedoms, and the progressive imperative to champion the most vulnerable. If that resonates with you, I hope you’ll join us. I look forward to pulling up a seat at the table for you.
- Dignity Restoration: I stand for a justice system that affirms the dignity of all individuals, particularly those caught in cycles of exploitation. So often, our justice system has failed to serve the most vulnerable among us and our goal as a society and nation must be to protect them through our legal systems.
- Community Safety: I stand for a government that provides community safety through robust local law enforcement and a firm stance against crime. Government's role in enforcing laws is crucial, as failure undermines safety and trust. While local issues must be addressed locally, issues of national importance demand federal support for community safety.
- Educational Freedom: I stand for an educational system that prioritizes the role of parents in their child's education. Parents should have the right to choose how, where, when and what their children learn until adulthood. States, not the federal government, should set education standards, and local entities along with parental oversight should govern school decisions.
Justice, education, foreign policy.
Captain America: Civil War
An elected official should be honest, just, and kind. To be honest means to tell the truth, have integrity in our dealings, and be worthy of the people’s trust. To be just means to have a strong sense of equality, morality, and determination to do the right thing. To be kind means to be principled, generous, and discerning between “being nice” and showing true empathy and compassion.
Listening to and representing the voice of the people.
I was 11 when the 2008 financial crisis hit. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I knew there was an undertone of fear and stress. People who had lost their retirement, others who lost their homes, and still others like my parents, stuck with an inflated mortgage and sinking home value. Now I know what happened – government intervention in the mortgage market overstimulated the economy like a balloon ready to burst. Its eruption led to entire industries collapsing and the entire world took the fall. The best of intentions led to some of the worst financial consequences, and hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. This experience taught me that positions of influence are to be taken with grave responsibility and wisdom.
At 16, I began my own company Courageous Communications. We specialize in teaching English writing and public speaking. I’ve managed a team of teachers, teaching hundreds of students locally in the Bay Area and around the world.
Something I’ve struggled with is believing that my voice matters. For so long, I’ve thought that perhaps staying quiet was the best way to survive. But in my silence, I’ve forfeited the opportunity to speak on my behalf and on behalf of others. When I use my voice to speak for the voiceless, they regain the power of their own voice and the strength to speak on behalf of others.
I support them!
Endorsements:
CAGOP Republican Party
Santa Clara County Republican Party
Alameda County Republican Party
American Independent Party of California
Community Endorsements:
Business and Housing Network
Silicon Valley Chinese Association
Vietnamese American Conservative Alliance
California Republican Assembly
California Congress of Republicans
Silicon Valley Association of Republican Women
Individual Endorsements:
Vince Fong (California Assemblyman, District 32)
Anna Cheng Kramer (San Mateo GOP Chairwoman)
Karen Hardy (Santa Clara City Council)
Peter Hernandez (San Benito Supervisor)
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Chen’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
safety:
education:
economy:
inflation:
diplomacy:
justice:
Public Safety As stipulated by the Constitution, government is to “provide for the common defense” of the people. Public safety is one of the highest priorities of civil government, creating a safe environment in which communities can thrive. State, local, and federal policies must work together to create a place where people can feel safe and build their futures. Housing Education Energy Economy Technology Technology advances human societies, improving access to a broad range of services, such as healthcare, higher education, and transportation. Within ethical and privacy safeguards, embrace of technological progress can usher new generation of innovation for the betterment of society. As labor-intensive roles are replaced with technology, continual career development leads to both dignified work and economic development. Anita's current thinking regarding her priorities are outlined below along with potential avenues for solutions. Dignity Restoration
Public Safety
Educational Freedom
|
” |
| —Anita Chen’s campaign website (2024)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House California District 17 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Anita for Congress, "About," accessed February 12, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Anita for Congress, “Issues,” accessed February 12, 2024
