Garden Grove Councilmember Kim Bernice Nguyen is currently the Democratic challenger to Rep. Michelle Steel in  Orange County’s 45th congressional district. And while it’s obviously still very early, things aren’t looking too great for Nguyen.

According to recent filings, Nguyen’s congressional campaign has raised like $4. Alright, maybe a little more than that, but not much more, not enough to think the Democrats believe they have a serious chance of actually flipping the seat. Steel, meanwhile, raised over $1 million.

We saw what happened last year. Steel easily trounced Democrat Jay Chen, who raised several times what Nguyen has raised at this point. To be fair, no one knew who Jay Chen was. He tried his best to milk to death whatever political capital one can get out of being a Mt. San Antonio Community College Board Trustee and calling himself “lieutenant commander” but, well, you know.

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Nguyen at least has been an elected and re-elected council member. But she’s also fallen short in her efforts to go higher than that. In 2020, she placed fourth in the primary election for Orange County supervisor. In 2022, touting endorsements from police unions and Republican Supervisor Andrew Do, truly a coalition of deplorables,  she lost yet again in her race for supervisor.

Now, she’s running with early support from faux moderate Democratic Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, police union-friendly Democratic Supervisor Katrina Foley and Democratic nepotism beneficiary Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal. But, I mean, this all feels like another obligatory Democratic dud campaign. Like the utterly pointless and doomed from the start Asif Mahmood congressional campaign last year.

I could be wrong, but probably not.

Sal Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected]