Newly-elected Democratic Rep. Chris Chyung already has made history by becoming Indiana's first Asian-American state lawmaker.

At age 25, he's also the state's youngest current state lawmaker. And he's probably the only lawmaker who still lives with his parents as he works to pay off student debt.

He won election largely by running an old-fashioned shoe leather campaign. The young Democrat from Dyer knocked on as many doors as he could and ultimately knocked off three-term Republican incumbent Hal Slager by a meager 82 voters.

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He was the candidate no one saw coming — not his opponent, not the state Democratic party, nor his parents.

"We didn’t believe he won when he told us," his mother, Sang Young Chyung, said. "We thought people would use his age and Korean heritage against him."

Now Democrats see him as a blueprint for other Democratic candidates to follow as the party struggles to regain footing in Indiana.

Korean roots

Chyung, whose parents are Korean immigrants and physicians, is a Hoosier through and through.

He was born in Merrillville and graduated from Munster High School, before going to Columbia University to study industrial engineering.

He assumed he'd end up on Wall Street like his peers, but after a couple of internships he realized it wasn't for him. Instead, he moved back home to Indiana and worked at a real estate company in Chicago.

Last year, he quit his job to focus on his campaign and opened up his own real estate company, Koh Holdings, in Hammond.

But his strong Hoosier ties didn't stop some negative remarks aimed at his ethnicity — or his last name.

"I was told to go back to China more than once at the doors," Chyung said. "And I just kind of shrugged it off like, 'Alright dude, you're not voting for me, have a nice day.'"

Chyung said he laughs off the comments. "Can you at least get the racism right?" he jokes, pointing out that his parents are Korean, not Chinese. And he's never even been to China.

"There's no reason to get so bent out of shape because there is so much anger right now on every issue," Chyung said. "I think outrage is the new American mood in a lot of ways and understandably so on some of the extreme stuff, but now in my position as a legislator, I'm just trying to lead by saying no to the outrage."

Chyung's heritage puts him in a small minority in both his district and the state of Indiana. An estimated 2.4 percent of Hoosiers are Asian-Americans, according to U.S. census data. Asian-Americans make up even less of the population in his county: 1.6 percent.

But Chyung doesn't like to trumpet his heritage and said other freshman lawmakers are worthy of media attention as well.

"I believe in meritocratic system that chooses the best person regardless of skin color, sexual orientation, whatever," Chyung said. "I want to have the best person in there. That said, I do feel a sense of responsibility as the first Asian-American legislator to show other Asian kids who might be considering public service but thought gosh, 'There's no one out there whose like me.'"

The underdog

Chyung and his family were mostly apolitical growing up, and if anything, they leaned conservative.

But as the 2016 election rolled around, his family watched the rhetoric become more divisive in their eyes as President Donald Trump announced he was running for president.

One issue in particular struck a cord with the family: the discourse surrounding immigration. Both Chyung's parents immigrated to America and had green cards until they became citizens.

"The rhetoric that has been spewing out has been really sad and again driven people like my parents, who are educated immigrants, former Republicans, suburban typical cookie cutter suburban family, away from that because it's just been so hateful and so wild," Chyung said. "That's kind of what encouraged me to go be a Democrat this time around."

In that regard, Chyung wasn't unusual as a new candidate. State Democrats watched as a record number of first-time candidates, women and millennials felt encouraged to run after the divisive 2016 election.

When Chyung went to meet with Jim Weiser, the chairman of the Lake County Democrats, Weiser was amazed by how young Chyung looked, comparing him to a high school student.

"I was thinking to myself this is probably going to be a pretty short meeting," Weiser said.

But what he expected to be a 15-minute conversation lasted almost two hours. He was impressed by how politically wise and passionate Chyung was. He had already laid the groundwork for a campaign without Weiser's help.

"Is it going to be extremely difficult? Yes," Weiser said. "Is he the underdog? No doubt. Are the odds against him? Of course. But I don’t think we could find if we looked for five years a better candidate."

At first, the odds looked overwhelming. Slager had defeated his Democratic opponents, including Weiser himself, in the previous three elections. In May Chyung's internal polling showed 37 percent of voters planned to vote for him compared to 54 percent who planned to vote for Slager.

Chyung ran on a message of listening to his voters and building bridges. He focused on good governance, increasing the limited funding for K-12 education and on the brain drain he saw happening with his own peers as they moved out of northwest Indiana.

His social media presence was clever and his campaign was incredibly organized, Weiser said. Those in his district started to notice him and ask questions. By October, polls showed Slager's lead had shrunk to 7 percentage points, and Weiser was feeling optimistic.

On election night, Chyung benefited in part from a small country-wide blue wave that turned two other House seats and one Senate seat blue in Indiana. As early results started pouring in, Weiser realized his candidate actually looked good.

"I looked at our workers and said, he’s going to win this. This is real," Weiser said. "And it happened."

'He's what we've been recruiting.'

It's no secret Democrats had a disheartening election year in Indiana as they watched Sen. Joe Donnelly lose the only state-wide seat the state party had left.

But the Statehouse elections told a slightly different story: Democrats were making small but meaningful gains. In some districts where Republicans routinely demolished their Democratic opponents, the races were closer.

Younger candidates could be a picture of what works for Democrats in Indiana.

"I think Chris certainly coming online this year and winning is seen as a role model as to how the party can build a bench," said John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. "He knocked on thousands and thousands of doors. His campaign was an example of how you can win."

But for right now, Chyung is still in the minority as a millennial in the Statehouse and will have to ignore those who underestimate him because of his age.

Although Chyung won, he still gets mistaken for an intern or legislative staffer. One lawmaker, Chyung said, stopped him at the Statehouse entrance and asked him if he had his badge after watching him park in the legislators' parking lot.

Other times, he'll go unnoticed in meetings.

He may be no expert on being a parent or paying taxes on his own home, but he does bring a different perspective as a young lawmaker. Specifically he worries about the student debt bubble and the young Hoosiers who leave his district and never come back.

"Being young and a millennial probably influences my views and my legislative agenda more so than being Asian honestly," Chyung said.

When the legislative session starts Jan. 3, Chyung will serve as the ranking minority member on the House Local Government Committee and serve on Financial Institutions, Roads and Transportation, and Veterans Affairs and Public Safety committees.

His main legislative goals this year will focus on government accountability. He plans to pursue legislation that would initiate term limits, require stricter financial disclosure and prohibit lawmakers from lobbying the legislature for five years after retirement.

Weiser said Chyung's win meant a lot for Democrats in his community. Others who were running for office attempted to replicate his well-run campaign.

It's promising for the future of the Democrats, Weiser said.

"Man, he's what we’ve been recruiting, those of us who are looking at the folks of this generation to come on board and ultimately take over and be the one to carry our message for years to come," Weiser said. "He represents where not only our party, our community, but where our country is going. The first Asian American."

Call IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.