California Democrat Dave Min, who is vying in a tight swing district race to replace Rep. Katie Porter (D.), on Monday called "black and brown" business owners of California "very clearly unsophisticated" in dealing with financial lenders.
"When we talk about borrowers, many small business owners are very clearly unsophisticated, these are immigrant black and brown communities," Min, a state senator, said at a legislative hearing on Monday where he presented a proposal for new regulations on small business and commercial lenders. "They’re told that entrepreneurialism, small businesses are their pathway to the American dream, and they get targeted by all sorts of predatory lending practices, debt collection practices."
Min’s remarks come in the midst of a congressional race where he is facing off against Republican Scott Baugh to replace Democrat Katie Porter, who resigned her seat last year to make an unsuccessful bid for the Senate. Porter beat Baugh in a tight race in 2022 by just over 8,200 votes after spending more than $24 million.
Min made headlines last year when he was arrested for drunk driving in a taxpayer-funded vehicle. Video obtained by the Washington Free Beacon showed him lying to the police about how much alcohol he had consumed before getting behind the wheel.
A spokeswoman for Min told the Free Beacon on Tuesday that his comments about the sophistication of minority small business owners were taken "out of context."
"During the hearing, the opposition witness claimed that small business owners were sophisticated borrowers and not the types of marginalized borrowers that [existing law] is meant to protect," the spokeswoman said. "Senator Min was responding to that point, and your quote is taking him out of context."
Late last month, Min released internal polling that showed him with a slight lead over Baugh in purple Orange County, a longtime Republican stronghold in suburban Southern California which in recent years has tilted Democratic. His campaign claims that district voters largely shrug off his DUI.
The race has drawn millions of dollars from both sides. Min as of the end of March had raised just over $2.2 million while Baugh has raised nearly $2.4 million.