By his own account, Eric Chung was living the American Dream. A son of immigrants from Communist Vietnam, Chung is a constitutional lawyer who was working at the Commerce Department on the CHIPS and Science Act to boost the economy and bring jobs and manufacturing to places like Southeast Michigan, where Chung grew up.
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“This administration came in, and they fired 40 of my colleagues after asking people for their SAT scores,” Chung told LGBTQ Nation, “which was just very unserious.”
Chung said he wasn’t fired. But he recognized what was happening. “There were people there who apparently swore loyalty to people like Elon Musk and to the president, and my loyalty is always to the Constitution,” Chung said. He submitted his letter of resignation.
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“I am someone who, over time, got more engaged in politics because it felt more and more existential.”
Up until that point, Chung hadn’t thought of throwing his hat in the ring for Michigan’s Tenth Congressional District, an open seat. That district, which encompasses south Macomb County and part of north Oakland County, is currently the territory of Republican Congressman John James, who vacated the seat to run for governor. The district is rated either a toss-up or lean Republican.
At 32, Chung believes his broad range of experience, which includes stints within the Obama and Biden administrations, makes him best equipped for the job. He will face two primary opponents in August. Early voting starts in June.
“I am proud to have served in all three branches of the federal government,” Chung said. “I’ve clerked in the federal courts. I worked in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I’ve also worked at the Commerce Department.” His tenure with the Senate Judiciary Committee occurred at the time of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings.
“I like to say I am the freshest candidate with the most experience to meet this moment,” Chung said. “I am the one who has had opportunities to see the highs and lows in our community, lived it personally, and then also got to work on it professionally to bring back the kind of jobs and manufacturing that we need in our community to move forward.”
“There were many times when I saw there were people who would say education is the civil rights issue of our generation, but not really put their money where their mouth is.”
When Chung’s parents came to Michigan, Chung said the neighborhood was welcoming and the state provided for them. His parents, who lost everything to war and one-person, one-party rule, instilled in Chung the value of a good education. “Education is the only thing no one can take away from you,” Chung was told. “You have to get the best education you can.”
Chung’s father, an autoworker, was laid off during the recession in ‘08, and their household experienced significant uncertainty.
Although he noticed educational disparities from a young age, Chung had only positive things to say about his public school education in Madison Heights. There, he excelled academically, enjoyed playing baseball, soccer, and tennis, competed in Academic Games, and was part of a LEGO Robotics team.
Early in his career, Chung earned a degree from Harvard and taught civics. “I am someone who, over time, got more engaged in politics because it felt more and more existential,” Chung said.
In his own classroom, he saw how difficult it was for kids whose parents worked multiple jobs and had siblings to care for. During the Obama administration, Chung had the opportunity to work on education policy in several government settings.
“I got a lot of exposure to how government works, how policy works, and then also how politics works. There were many times when I saw there were people who would say education is the civil rights issue of our generation, but not really put their money where their mouth is,” Chung said.
Recognizing a need, Chung would come home during college breaks to offer financial aid workshops to other students like him who could benefit. “I would not have been able to afford college and I would not be in the place where I am today to even consider some of these public service and political opportunities that I have pursued.” Chung earned his law degree from Yale.
Proud of his identity, Chung feels that “a lot of being a member of the LGBTQ+ community is understanding the experiences of others and that we are ultimately so much more similar than we are different. And when you grow up as an LGBTQ+ individual, you appreciate that.”
If elected, Chung will be Michigan’s first openly queer member of Congress. Vying for this distinction is also Jeremy Moss, who is running for Michigan’s Eleventh Congressional District. Macomb County has elected very few out LGBTQ+ candidates historically, in contrast to neighboring Oakland and Wayne counties.
“It’s important for there to be representation at all levels of all of our backgrounds,” Chung said. We live in a society where there are so many different groups of people who provide such important insights about our country and…all of it makes us stronger.”
Chung sees the current administration making life difficult for Michiganders and wants to stand up for the constituents in his district who have been hit hard by national economic decisions that have resulted in higher costs from groceries to health care premiums.
Chung is proud to have earned the endorsements of such organizations as the Human Rights Campaign, the Victory Fund, and the Equality PAC. He’s outpacing his competitors on both sides of the aisle in terms of fundraising (over $1.5 million, a record for this district before a primary).
“I would be proud to be the first gay member of Congress from Michigan,” Chung said. “And I think that for all of our communities, for our children, for our workers and families to see more people who represent the full breadth of our society helps and moves the ball forward so that everyone, when they look at the halls of government, they think, ‘Oh wow, that could be me, too.’”
“And you know, that’s certainly my journey. I was not someone who had, for most of my life, thought that running for Congress was even a possibility. I didn’t know a single lawyer or politician growing up, and to be in a position where we can be leading the field and be in a position to win this race and be elected to Congress is very humbling and empowering to hopefully set an example for more people in the future running as well.”
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