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All eyes are on California’s two remaining competitive House races as voters choose which candidates will face off later this fall.
The outcome of the state’s open primary, which narrows each race to the top two vote-getters regardless of party, sets the stage for a fierce contest in November as Democrats across the country push to retake control of Congress. Victories in California are even more important after a series of court rulings gave Republicans the edge in the national redistricting arms race.
Still, Democrats have been bullish about their chances in California after voters last year approved new congressional maps that significantly decreased the number of competitive races in the state. With the House majority, Democrats could block President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, grill his cabinet officials and launch investigations into his administration.
Only two truly competitive races remain — one in the Central Valley and the other in San Diego — while the other contested seats pit Democrats against one another.
22nd District: San Joaquin Valley
The state’s marquee race is in the Bakersfield-based 22nd District. Two Democrats are fighting for the chance to take on Rep. David Valadao, the vulnerable Republican incumbent whose only election loss came in 2018 during Trump’s first term. As the sole Republican in the race, Valadao is almost certain to advance to November.
Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a physician who has spent most of her career in hospitals and clinics that rely on Medi-Cal, has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat willing to buck her party. She has faced stiff competition from Randy Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee running as a progressive Democrat with support from the Working Families Party, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The Dem-on-Dem battle for that second spot embodies the larger tug-of-war within the party over how Democrats can win back the voters they lost in 2024. They could play to the middle and back Bains, a so-called “Valleycrat” who is backed by national Democrats and a slate of sitting members of Congress. Or, they could take a leap of faith and embrace Villegas’ more progressive brand of economic populism, which notably fueled Zohran Mamdani’s rise to the New York City mayor’s office.
48th District: San Diego
In San Diego, a slew of Democrats are jockeying for the opportunity to take on Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor backed by the retiring incumbent, Rep. Darrell Issa.
Two Democrats have emerged as frontrunners: San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former labor department aide to President Obama who lost to Issa twice before. Palm Springs businessman Brandon Riker is also competing for the seat after shifting districts post-Prop. 50.
Von Wilpert and Campa-Najjar have traded sharp criticisms. She called him anti-LGBTQ for questioning whether she could win votes outside gay-friendly Palm Springs; he accused her of racism for questioning his name changes and residence.
Elsewhere in the state, Democrats are waging a battle for the ages with younger candidates looking to oust or succeed aging incumbents.
11th District: Nancy Pelosi’s seat
In San Francisco, the race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has turned into a fight for second place between San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who Pelosi endorsed just two weeks before Election Day, and billionaire tech entrepreneur Saikat Chakrabarti. They both trail state Sen. Scott Wiener by double digits in public polling. Wiener is expected to advance to November.
7th District: Sacramento
In Sacramento, longtime incumbent Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui faces the first serious challenge in her 20-year congressional career from Mai Vang, a progressive Sacramento city councilmember nearly half her age. Vang is one of several candidates around the state who are running on a platform of generational change.
6th District: Sacramento suburbs
Incumbent Rep. Ami Bera, a Democrat, switched districts to run for the 3rd District, which was reshaped dramatically by Prop. 50. The incumbent in that seat, Rep. Kevin Kiley, subsequently left the Republican Party and switched districts to run as an independent in the suburban Sacramento 6th District.
One Democratic sponsored poll shows Kiley in the lead, with former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan outpacing the rest of the crowded Democratic field.
Other candidates in the race include Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, Planned Parenthood public affairs executive Lauren Babb-Tomlinson and West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, all Democrats.
4th District: Wine Country
Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, 75, faces an intraparty challenge from Eric Jones, 36, in his bid for a 15th term. A former venture capitalist, Jones’ platform centers around affordability, including a proposed $10,000 middle-class tax credit and expanding access to zero-down mortgages.
Thompson is leaning on his experience fighting the Trump administration and securing funds for projects in the district. He is a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, which governs tax policy.
The two Republican candidates, John MacKenzie and Ray Rihele, have been significantly outspent and are not likely to emerge as top vote-getters.
32nd District: Los Angeles
Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, 71, has represented some of Los Angeles’ most affluent northwest suburbs for close to 30 years. His main opponent, 42-year-old Jake Levine, says Sherman’s long tenure has rendered him out of touch with his constituents.
Levine, a former climate aide to Presidents Obama and Biden, is running on a progressive policy platform that includes universal childcare, a new federal renters’ tax credit and tuition-free college.
Both are expected to advance to November.
