Assemblymember Van Tran represents the 68th district, which includes Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, Newport Beach, Stanton, and Westminster.

He is the first American of Vietnamese descent to be elected to the California State Assembly.

Van Tran was first elected to the Garden Grove City Council in November 2000, gaining more votes for city council than any other candidate in Garden Grove history.

Only the second American of Vietnamese descent to be elected to public office in the United States, Van Tran quickly earned a reputation as a prudent fiscal conservative. Van also gained the confidence and respect of his fellow council members who have now twice elected him to serve as Mayor Pro-Tem. The Orange County Register recognized him in 2001 as, "a person to watch."

Van Tran is the managing partner of Van Thai Tran & Associates law firm. Prior to founding his law firm, Van served as a staff aide to Congressman Robert K. Dornan and then-State Senator (now Congressman) Ed Royce. He was the first Vietnamese American to serve on the personal staff of a Member of Congress.

Van Tran is Chairman of the Vietnamese Committee of the Orange County Republican Party. He is also a member of Congressman Ed Royce’s Asian-Pacific Congressional Advisory Board, and he serves as Vice Chairman of the Orange County based "El Capitan" District of the Boy Scouts of America.

In the 1990's, Van founded the Vietnamese-American Voters Coalition (VAVOCO), a non-profit organization that promotes voter education and awareness.

At the age of 10, Van Tran emigrated with his family to the United States from Saigon, Vietnam. He completed his Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine, and then went on to earn both a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.