Senator, House Candidate Dave Min’s DUI Continues To Keep Him Down In The Polls

The DUI of Senator Dave Min (D-Orange County) continues to haunt his Congressional campaign in the 47th district, with a lingering public memory and a recent uptick of DUI crashes in and around the Irvine area continuing to hurt his campaign against former Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R) for the seat.

According to the Capitol Protection Section of the California Highway Patrol, Senator Min was driving a Toyota Camry through Sacramento after 10 P.M. At 10:23 P.M., the CHP observed Min go south on Ninth Street just north of S Street without headlights on. Following him, they then witnessed him go through a red light at 9th Street and Broadway before finally pulling him over at Riverside and Broadway.

Earlier that night, Min had gone to a few bars with fellow Assembly members, lobbyists, and realtors, and was shown to have had some alcohol that night. He had then left in a state silver Camry.

The officers proceeded to conduct a DUI test on Min. However, he failed, and he was arrested on suspicion of driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08%. Later reports revealed that he had blown a .15 on scene with later blood tests giving a .14 and .13 respectively. This was confirmed with Min then formally charged with a DUI misdemeanor, arrested, and sent to Sacramento County Jail. On Wednesday morning, May 3rd, the Senator was subsequently released and was given a July hearing date.

Later in May, footage of Min’s DUI arrest was released, leading to some to call for his resignation or for him to pull out of the 2024 Congressional race as a result. However, in August 2023, Min pleaded no contest on Tuesday to his misdemeanor first-time DUI and received  three years of unsupervised probation, $2,050 in fines, and a 30-hour state-licensed alcohol and drug education program that all first time DUI offenders must take.

To his credit, Min has apologized multiple times over the incident. But that damage was done. Ever since then, the DUI has been a constant source of ire for Min. Many groups have run ads highlighting the DUI. Public safety groups, who are a huge factor in elections this year due to crime being a hot button issue, have come out against him.  Even the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and California Republican Party (CAGOP) got in on it, sending the Senator a a DUI Prevention Kit, including a breathalyzer, non-alcoholic drinks and more, to mark the 1-year anniversary of Min getting arrested and going to jail.

“Whether it’s drunkenly barreling through red lights in a government car or voting for extreme liberal policies in Sacramento, dangerous Dave Min’s bad judgement is disqualifying. But for the safety of the traveling public, we hope Dave gets the help he needs to clean up his act,” said NRCC Spokesperson Ben Petersen in May.

The long shadow of the DUI

And the political toll has been staggering. As many tight House races have fluctuated between candidates, the 47th District, for Congresswoman Katie Porter’s (D-CA) seat no less, has not had one poll with Min ahead since May of last year. Before the DUI, Min had been projected for a narrow victory, thanks to a lot of Porter supporters there. But after, a significant chunk left. In recent weeks the gap between the two, still partially fueled by the DUI, moved up to a three point difference.

As the District is the last district remaining in Orange County that the Democrats had taken away from Republicans during the blue wave midterms of 2018, the symbolism of such a loss is not lost on Min or Baugh. Both have been fighting like crazy, but Baugh’s ace in his sleeve has constantly been the DUI.

“We were originally going to go with Min, as he aligned more with what we stood for,” explained Patricia, a leader of a neighborhood safety group in Newport Beach, to the Globe on Wednesday. “But after the DUI things changed. Baugh was more big on crime too, which was a part of it. But if you are looking for a single incident that swayed us and many others? It was that DUI. How hard is it to get an Uber then pick up the car in the morning?.”

Not helping has been a jump in DUI’s in the district, including one last week where someone driving drunk led police on a chase on the rims of their car.

“It was one mistake on Min’s part, but as I tell every teen driving class I’m invited to, it can be the last mistake,” added Edward Huerta, a former police officer who is a frequent speaker to driving classes, to the Globe on Wednesday. “I don’t blame his rival for using it against him. It’s really effective. No matter how many apologies, it shows that he didn’t care about the lives of others. Ask yourself if you really want a politician representing you to think that.”

Election is just over a month away, to be held on Tuesday, November 5th.