CA-10
The district: California’s 10th congressional district in northern California, centered on Modesto, is currently represented by Jeff Denham. The seat was previously held by former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D), but after redistricting in 2010, the seat flipped to Republican control. Denham defeated his Democratic challenger in 2016 by a narrow 3.4-point margin (the third closest Congressional race of the cycle) despite a significant fundraising advantage.
Our candidate: Josh Harder, a 30-year old venture capitalist who grew up in the district and is a fifth-generation resident of California’s Central Valley, is a former management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. He has worked with the Gates Foundation and other nonprofits. He is now a vice president with Bessemer Venture Partners, where he invests in and works with small businesses to create economic growth and job opportunities. Harder holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School, as well as the Kennedy School of Government.
CA-21
The District: California’s 21st congressional district (CA-21) is a central-California district centered around the San Joaquin Valley, including suburbs of Bakersfield. The incumbent, David Valadao (R), was first elected in 2012. This district has a PVI of D+5, and Secretary Clinton won this district with 55% of the vote in 2016, making this a vulnerable seat in 2018.
Our Candidate: TJ Cox is an chemical engineer, agricultural entrepreneur and small businessman. He is the son of immigrants from the Philippines and China. Cox had a career in international project management and construction. After this, he founded the Central Valley NMTC Fund, which invests in socially and economically disadvantaged communities in the Central Valley.
CA-25
The district: This southern California district includes parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and has been represented by GOP Congressman Steve Knight since 2015. In 2016, Secretary Clinton won the district with 50.3% of the vote, and heading into the 2018 cycle, CA-25 is anticipated to be one of the most competitive races in the country.
Our candidate: Katie Hill is the executive director of a Los Angeles area non-profit, People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), that has spearheaded the fight to alleviate homelessness in Los Angeles County. In her role, she has grown PATH’s annual budget to $40 million and was instrumental in the fight to pass statewide legislation providing $1.2 billion in funding for new affordable housing units.
CA-39
The District: California’s 39th congressional district includes parts of LA, Orange, and San Bernadino counties. With Republican incumbent Rep. Ed Royce’s retirement, this will be a highly competitive open seat contest in 2018. In the 2016 presidential election, Secretary Clinton carried the district by 8 points. The Cook Political Report lists this race as a toss-up.
Our Candidate: Gil Cisneros is a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy. Cisneros is also an education policy expert who has founded non-profits committed to strengthening public schools and improving access to college for students and veterans. In June, he was the second highest vote getter in a crowded primary, securing his place on the November ballot.
CA-45
The district: California’s 45th congressional district (CA-45) is based in Orange County and has been represented by Republican Rep. Mimi Walter since 2015. Rep. Walters won reelection in 2016 with 59% of the vote, while Secretary Clinton won the district 49.8%-44.4% — a 5 point margin.
Our candidate: Katie Porter is a consumer protection attorney, and she has spent nearly twenty years fighting powerful interests and Wall Street banks on behalf of consumers and families. In 2012, then California Attorney General Kamala Harris appointed Katie to be California’s watchdog against the banks. Katie is a tenured professor at the University of California Irvine Law School.
CA-48
The district: This Southern California district contains much of Orange County, and in 2016, Secretary Clinton won the district by four points, making it a highly competitive contest in 2018. Although Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has been in office since 1988, he is considered highly vulnerable in 2018, and this race is rated as a toss up by the Cook Political report.
Our Candidate: Harley Rouda is a businessman, philanthropist, attorney, and tech entrepreneur. He practiced law with one of the country’s largest law firms before joining his family’s real estate business and building it into one of the country’s largest firms. In California’s top-two primary in June, Rouda secured a spot on the November ballot with 17% of the vote after the highly contested 16-way primary.
CA-49
The district: California-49 has been represented by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa since 2003. In 2016, Secretary Clinton carried the district by seven points, while Rep. Issa only narrowly won reelection by half a point, making it one of the most competitive races of 2018. Mike Levin secured his place on the November ballot with 17.5% of the vote, beating out 14 other candidates in a packed primary. He will face Republican Diane Harkey in the general election.
Our Candidate: Mike Levin is a California native and Stanford alumnus who served as the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Orange County. He also has experience as an attorney focused on environmental law and has been awarded for his clean energy work. Levin served on the board of Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, and co-founded an organization called Sustain OC in Orange County.
CA-50
The district: California’s 50th congressional district (CA-50) includes the northern and eastern suburbs of San Diego and has been represented by Rep. Duncan Hunter since 2013. Before he assumed office, Rep. Hunter’s father Duncan L. Hunter, represented the area in Congress for nearly 30 years. While Hunter won reelection in 2016 with 63% of the vote and President Trump carried his district by 15 points, a slew of legal troubles have embattled the incumbent. He was recently indicted by federal prosecutors for misusing campaign funds, making his corruption scandal a central issue in the 2018 election. He has not announced any intentions of suspending his re-election campaign, and California election law makes it such that removing his name from the November ballot is nearly impossible. This turn of events has led national prognosticators to improve their competitiveness ratings for this district.
Our candidate: Ammar Campa-Najjar is of Mexican and Middle Eastern heritage, and he lived in Gaza for four years as a child before his family moved to San Diego to flee violence in the region. Campa-Najjar served as Deputy Regional Field Director for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and then served in the White House before working at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.