Filipino American officials Rob Bonta and Bobby Scott win new terms in the US midterm elections

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the first Filipino American in the post, was projected reelected to a second term, while Virginia Representative Bobby Scott, the first voting House member with Filipino ancestry, was projected to win another term in the 3 November midterms.

Two Filipino American elected officials have won new terms in the 3 November midterm elections. California Attorney General Rob Bonta was reelected over Republican challenger Michael Gates, NBC News and CBS News projected, while Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia won reelection to the US House of Representatives in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, according to a projection by The Associated Press reported by INQUIRER.net USA.

Bonta secures a second term in California

CBS News said the Bonta victory was projected roughly 40 minutes after the polls closed at 8 p.m. in California. NBC Los Angeles said Bonta, “who made history as the first Filipino American to become the state's attorney general,” secured a second term against Gates, a former Huntington Beach city attorney.

Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Bonta in 2021 to succeed Xavier Becerra, who left to become US secretary of Health and Human Services, and Bonta was elected to a full term in 2022. Born in Quezon City, Bonta immigrated to California with his family as an infant, and before becoming attorney general he served in the state Assembly from 2012 to 2021, becoming the first Filipino American elected to the California Legislature, INQUIRER.net USA reported.

NBC Los Angeles noted that since 20 January 2025, Bonta’s office has filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration. CBS News described him as a key figure in leading California’s legal battles against President Trump and his administration.

Scott extends a three-decade House career

In Virginia, Scott, a Democrat, faced Republican Edwin Rivera Jr. and independent candidates Makiba Gaines and Stephen Woll. The Daily Tribune said the win means Scott will serve his 18th consecutive term. His district in southeastern Virginia includes Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth and parts of Chesapeake, and he has represented it since January 1993.

When Scott first won election to Congress in 1992, he became the first American with Filipino ancestry to serve as a voting member of the House of Representatives. According to his official congressional biography, cited by INQUIRER.net USA, his maternal grandfather was of Filipino descent and immigrated from the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.

Scott has served as the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee and sits on the executive board of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). INQUIRER.net USA said he has built much of his congressional career around education, labour protections, health care and criminal justice reform.

INQUIRER.net USA noted that Scott’s reelection comes as both parties compete for control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms.

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