Quoc Van

Quoc Ba Van was a Democratic candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 8th Congressional District (map) of Florida. He was seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.). The primary will take place on August 26, 2008. He lost in primary elections which took place on August 26, 2008.

Bio
Quoc Van's father, Anh Hong Van, and Mother, Lanh Thi Van fled Vietnam in 1979 and came to America in 1980. His parent's came to America so that their children could have the opportunities in life that they could only dream about. Quoc Van's parents eventually settled in Sanford, Florida where they live today. Quoc Van was born in 1983. He is a first generation Vietnamese American.

He has four sisters and one brother, and is the second youngest of six children. He attended Midway Elementary, Sanford Middle, and Seminole High School, all of which are located in the beautiful city of Sanford. Quoc Van was the Valedictorian in his graduating class at Seminole High. During high school, he participated in competitive weightlifting, winning two state individual titles and setting two state records.

He then attended Georgetown University in Washington DC, and majored in Government and Economics and minored in philosophy. During his four college summers, he volunteered as a coach at Seminole High School. He graduated from Georgetown University with honors in 2005.

He then received his law degree from the Emory University Law School, and was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Emory University Varsity athletes. In his spare time he competes in Olympic weightlifting, in which he was the AAU Junior National Olympic Champion in the 62 kg. weight class in the 2002 year, and the National Collegiate Champion in 2007 for the 69 kg. weight class.

2008 elections
Van was seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.) in the 2008 congressional elections. He lost in primary elections which took place on August 26, 2008.

Committees
Van will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Campaign Contact Information
1110 Butler Way Sanford, FL 32773 [mailto:vanforcongress@gmail.com vanforcongress@gmail.com]

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Florida and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Florida's 8th Congressional District
 * Official Van for Congress website
 * Van's FEC filings

External articles

 * Rachel Kapochunas, "Heat Rises in Florida House Race, as ’06 Dem Nominee Seeks Rematch," CQ Politics, July 2, 2007.