California state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), who is running for Congress next year in a competitive Orange County district, was released from Sacramento County jail Wednesday, according to Sacramento Sheriff’s Department records. Min said in a social media post that he was cited with drunk driving.
“Last night I was cited for a misdemeanor for driving under the influence,” Min wrote on Facebook Wednesday. “My decision to drive last night was irresponsible. I accept full responsibility and there is no excuse for my actions. To my family, constituents and supporters, I am so deeply sorry. I know I need to do better. I will not let this personal failure distract from our work in California and in Washington.”
Min’s campaign declined to answer additional questions on the record.
Min is running for the hotly contested 47th Congressional District currently represented by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), who is seeking to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Min will face former state Assemblyman Scott Baugh, a Republican, for the purple district seat that the GOP is pouring its energy into flipping red in 2024.
The district includes Irvine, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Porter narrowly won a third term in Congress with 51.7% of the vote last year, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.
Min was elected to the state Senate in 2020 after beating an incumbent Republican representing a traditionally red district. He’s focused his legislative attention on passing new gun control laws and fighting climate change. Min carried unsuccessful legislation to ban offshore oil drilling after the 2021 oil spill in Huntington Beach.
Min is a former UC Irvine law professor with an extensive background in banking and housing policy.
Min is not the first state legislator to be accused of driving drunk. In 2014, then-state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
In 2012, then-Assemblyman Roger Hernandez (D-Covina) was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, but a jury later found him not guilty.
In 2010, then state Sen. Roy Ashburn (R-Bakersfield) was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
