Capitol Spotlight: Jacqui Nguyen

In the dark of night shortly before the 1975 fall of Saigon, three-year-old Jacqui Nguyen fled Vietnam on a crowded boat with her parents, her six-month-old brother and nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

Today, Nguyen works as communications director for Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach). Her responsibilities in the office extend beyond messaging, with Nguyen also helping to shape policy, conducting research and advising on strategy. Her path — from refugee to reporter to Capitol staffer — shapes how she does the job and how she understands what’s at stake.

“Who would have thought that an immigrant like myself, who came here in 1975, didn’t know how to speak English, didn’t have anything,” Nguyen said. “Now I have an opportunity to serve the people of California.”

Before fleeing, Nguyen’s paternal family urged her father to leave his wife and children behind in Vietnam and start over in America. Instead, he refused. Nguyen paused as she recalled the moment, her voice breaking.

“My father was just like, ‘I love my wife, I love my children. And so if I have to die in Vietnam, we’ll die in Vietnam,’” Nguyen said.

Not long after the family escaped by boat, they landed in Guam and soon resettled in San Diego County.

Life there was far from easy. Nguyen grew up in an underprivileged neighborhood, in a one-bedroom apartment where the family of four shared a bed. The bed was a place her mother felt safe enough to lock the doors and keep her children close, while Nguyen listened longingly to the sounds of other children playing outside.

Working multiple jobs, her parents eventually saved enough to buy a home in Rancho Penasquitos, giving Nguyen access to a stronger school district. At her new high school, she found an outlet — the school yearbook.

“I got involved with the yearbook because I wanted to have a place to go out and hang out with friends. My mom was so protective that she would not allow me to hang out with anybody after school. So this was my way to do that,” Nguyen said.

For college, Nguyen stayed close to home, attending San Diego State University as a commuter student. She studied journalism to explore a world she had largely been sheltered from as a child, even imagining her life as a foreign correspondent.

“This is a business of relationships, and she has an amazing brand that everyone trusts.”

Following graduation, Nguyen began her career in TV news as a production assistant at NBC 739 in San Diego. She was soon promoted to assignment editor while taking on side work hosting short segments for Daniels Cable Vision.

Aspiring to report on air, her news director, Jim Sanders, recommended her for a part-time reporting job at KMIR in Palm Springs. After three months of juggling full-time work in San Diego and weekends at KMIR, Nguyen leaped into full-time reporting.

She packed her bags and moved to Palm Springs. Over the next seven years, she developed the discipline required to always be camera-ready and prepared to respond.

“When things are happening, I jump on it immediately,” Nguyen said.

Those instincts, Strickland said, are what set Nguyen apart in the Capitol.

“This is a business of relationships, and she has an amazing brand that everyone trusts,” Strickland said.

Nguyen later worked as a morning show reporter at Fox 5 San Diego, covering feature stories — sometimes climbing into pools at sunrise for live shots — but found herself drawn more to hard news.

Nguyen’s transition into politics began on the campaign trail, where she saw how her reporting skills translated into communications and outreach. When Steve Hadley tapped her in 2010 to run communications for his city council campaign, she saw an opportunity to shift careers.

It was also a learning experience. Nguyen, a Republican, had taken a role on a Democratic campaign, a mistake she quickly realized she could not repeat.

In 2014, she joined Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s (R-San Diego) campaign for Congressional District 52, working on Asian Pacific Islander outreach in partnership with the California Republican Party (CRP). Though DeMaio lost the race, Nguyen went on to become deputy communications director for the CRP.

Both the Senate and Assembly Republican caucuses soon recruited her to Sacramento. After weighing her options with guidance from party leaders, Nguyen chose to join the Senate Republican Caucus. As the press secretary, Nguyen also wanted to bring something to the job.

“I wanted to do Asian outreach because I felt like there was a component missing. We were not speaking to the people of California in terms of those ethnic communities,” Nguyen said.

During her years with the caucus, Nguyen built a reputation for helping members navigate the media landscape as the minority party in the Legislature. Working under multiple leaders, from former Sen. Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) to most recently Sen. Brian Jones (R-San Diego), she developed a deep understanding of the Capitol and how to support members with differing priorities.

“I wanted to do Asian outreach because I felt like there was a component missing. We were not speaking to the people of California in terms of those ethnic communities.”

“Jacqui is incredibly hard-working and persistent in securing media opportunities, always going the extra mile to ensure our Republican message reaches Californians effectively,” Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said in a statement. “Her insight and experience from her prior career in television news, along with her relentless drive, have made her a valuable communications professional in the Legislature.”

Nguyen’s move from the caucus to Strickland’s office came unexpectedly. When Strickland was elected in a special election in March 2025, Nguyen helped organize his first press conference as part of her role in the caucus. Watching her run the room — directing reporters and keeping the event moving — Strickland took notice.

Soon after, Strickland asked her to join his office as communications director. After nearly a decade working within a caucus structure, Nguyen hesitated at the idea of stepping out on her own, but ultimately took the leap.

Today, as Nguyen works with Strickland, those who know them jokingly call them “Twins,” a reference to the late-’80s DeVito-Schwarzenegger film — Strickland is well over six feet, Nguyen is not quite five.

That dynamic, along with her ability to reach people while staying sharp and on message, he said, is part of what makes the partnership work. As the office takes on new priorities in the Capitol, Strickland said Nguyen will continue to play a key role.

“We do hard work, but Jacqui always brings joy to our office,” Strickland said. “We often laugh together, and I consider her a friend.”

But for Nguyen, the work is never far from the path that brought her there, or the father who once refused to leave his family behind.

“When I have a lot of different challenges, I always talk to him,” Nguyen said. “‘Show me the light, Dad.’”

Note: An earlier version of this story identified former Sen. Jean Fuller as representing Orinda rather than Bakersfield. We regret the error.