The members of Orange County’s congressional delegation have forged various paths to Washington, D.C.

Reps. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana; Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills; and Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, have held elected office prior to heading to Washington, D.C. Reps. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano; Katie Porter, D-Irvine; and Linda Sánchez, D-Whittier, have not.

Overall, two in 10 House members are political novices, having had no experience as a public servant or elected official at the local, state or federal level before arriving in Washington, D.C., according to the Congressional Research Service.

“On average, experienced candidates are more likely to win,” said UC Irvine political science professor Danielle Thomsen. “And this makes sense because they have run successful campaigns in the past, because they’ve developed a record that they can run on and they can point to. And they’ve created a campaign team that’s had success in the past.”

While Orange County’s delegation is so evenly split, it could be a window into the open race for the 47th congressional district. The race in this affluent coastal district features a handful of contenders — and only two have held prior elected office.

Scott Baugh, who’s running for Rep. Katie Porter’s seat, served as the Republican leader in the state Assembly as well as the longtime party chair for the county GOP. That collective experience, he said, allowed him to get to know and interact with thousands of people.

“Whether I was doing it as an elected official or as a member of a nonprofit group, it’s been a tremendous help for me because what do you need when you run for office? You need to understand what people are thinking,” said Baugh. “And it gives me tremendous opportunity to get feedback from what people are thinking out in the district.”

Another candidate in the race, Dave Min, didn’t have any other experience holding elected office before he became a state senator in 2020. Working in policy for other elected officials, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Min said, has prepared him to legislate in higher office and sets him apart.

“My entire career is kind of built up to this moment, as far as understanding the policy nuances, understanding how to digest policies, understanding how to think about stakeholder engagement,” he said. “And there’s a lot of complex policies out there at the federal and state level.”

While Min — as a prior officeholder — has established himself as a frontrunner, Thomsen said, “his wrinkle” is his DUI conviction.

“Absent that, Min probably would have had a clearer shot,” Thomsen said.

People will look to the next quarterly fundraising report and conclude whether or not he has a chance, she added.

“I’m not perfect by any means,” Min said. “But one thing I think that everyone will agree on is that I’m honest and transparent.”

With legislating at the state level under their belts, Baugh and Min concur that the benefits of having held office prior are plenty.

“When people get to see you in action, they have more confidence in you versus somebody who’s never done that,” Baugh said. “They have no idea how (a new candidate) is going to behave in public office with the trust of people.”

“Experience does matter, not just in getting elected, but more importantly in being a good legislator, in trying to get stuff passed and can represent your constituents,” said Min.

However, an “outsider” status can help a candidate if they set apart their campaign as an “indictment of the system that got us here,” said Stephen Stambough, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton.

Max Ukropina, a Republican businessman whose campaign is focused on inflation, is doing just that. He’s derided “D.C. politicians’ reckless spending,” saying it is “clear that we need new leadership in Congress.” It’s his background in business, he said, that gives him a “data-driven, solutions-oriented approach to solving problems,” which he believes gives him an edge.

And Joanna Weiss, a Democratic community organizer who founded Women for American Values and Ethics (WAVE), said she’s heard from hundreds of voters that they are tired of politics as usual in Washington and instead want leaders who have “faced the challenges they’ve faced raising a family, running a small business and balancing a household budget.”

“Voters want to know that their elected representatives are able to exercise good judgment and that they have a moral compass that leads them to make the right decisions,” she said.

But even among inexperienced candidates, some have much more of a shot than others, Thomsen said.

The three who went straight to Congress without passing through a local or state elected office — Porter, Sanchez and Levin — all had a career in law. That’s a benefit, Thomsen said, because lawyers give a lot of early money and candidates have access to a professional network that gets them ahead in early fundraising.

Weiss, she said, is a good example.

“One big factor that matters in congressional elections today is money,” said Thomsen. “And for those candidates who don’t have prior credentials, they can offset some of this by posting strong fundraising numbers which is exactly what Weiss has done.”

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During the first quarter of fundraising, attorneys made up Min’s largest donor base and Weiss’ second-largest donor base.

On top of that, Weiss is establishing herself with endorsements from progressive groups like EMILY’s List, said Thomsen, and through that, is creating a coalition that provides her some legitimacy without having held elected office.

“But that’s not to say that prior experience doesn’t matter,” Thomsen said. “It matters for whether or not people can build a successful coalition because they’ve done it.”

In CA-47, voters have elected non-politicians to the seat since 2018 when Harley Rouda, an attorney, defeated Republican incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

This story has been updated.

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