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Tan D. Nguyen

Republican

Picture of Tan D. Nguyen
tanforcongress.com
Date Party Office Votes Result
11-07-2006 Republican CD-47 28485 Loss
 

Candidate Biography:

Born: December 6, 1973 in Danang, Vietnam
Married: Hanh Lam
Child: Evan

2004: [Democratic] Primary Candidate for CD-46 (Lost; 32.6%)
2010: Primary Candidate for CD-47 (Lost; 19.7%)

  • A month before the 2006 General Election, Nguyen's campaign mailed a letter to 14,0000 voters with hispanic surnames saying (in part); "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time... Unlike Mexico, there is NO BENEFIT to voting. There is no VOTER CARD in the USA. It is therefore very stupid to vote in any election if you are not a citizen." The letter was criticized by several prominent Republicans, including Orange County Republican Party Chair Scott Baugh, who called on Nguyen to withdraw from the race. 
  • Legal Troubles: In 2011, Nguyen "was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for his conviction last year on a federal obstruction of justice charge stemming from lies he told to California investigators about his involvement in a letter sent to Latino voters during the campaign... In addition to the prison term, Judge Carter ordered Nguyen to serve six months at a residential reentry center, also known as a halfway house... The jury that convicted Nguyen on the obstruction of justice charge deadlocked 9-3 on a second obstruction of justice charge that alleged Nguyen attempted to blame a campaign worker for the letter. Nguyen was found guilty following his second trial; a jury in the first trial in August 2010 deadlocked on both counts. At the conclusion of today's sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors moved to dismissed the unresolved obstruction of justice charge." [Source: FBI]
  • His Federal Bureau of Prisons Register number was 48065-112 and he is currently incarcerated. Nguyen was first incarcerated at Correctional Institution Taft (in Taft, CA) in March 2011 but has since been moved to Minneapolis CCM (in early 2012). He was released from prison on June 11, 2012. [Current Status]

Source: Department of Justice Press Release; Former Congressional Candidate Sentenced to Prison for Lying During Investigation Into Campaign Letters]