FEDERAL: 26th Congressional District – 2026 Primary Election

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U.S. Representative – 26th Congressional District – Vote for (1)

Watch the video above here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GQXrjKiLho

Jacqui Irwin (D) – CA State Assemblymember

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. This is a hard one. We have endorsed Jacqui every time for her assembly district. For Congress, though, we’re looking for someone with a more consistently progressive message and previous experience working on the hill.

Sample of endorsements:

CADEM
GOOD club
dem. party of san fernandoLos Angeles dem. Party
California Young Democrats
equality CA
Julia BrownleyAdam
SALUD CARBAJAL
Leiu
GAVIN NEWSOM
CA fed. of teachers
calaborfed
Liana
Central Coast Labor Council
Ventura Co. Professional Firefighters

OK, here’s the problem…
Local Democratic clubs endorsed Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin immediately after Rep. Julia Brownley’s retirement announcement, apparently using figure skating’s “wait your turn” philosophy for who gets the crown next. Assemblymember Irwin has paid her dues, so here ya’ go. But their anointed one received an “F” rating from Courage Score, which grades legislators’ votes over a broad range of issues.

(couragescore.org) In eleven years of Courage Score, Asm. Jacqui Irwin has only scored above 50 out of 100 three times, including in 2025. She represents a strongly Democratic district, but lacks the courage to do so with conviction, which could be due to her contributions from real estate and law enforcement interests.  
Other shameful statistics: Asm. Irwin voted against or didn’t vote at all on 15 of 34 Courage Score bills (44%), including bills to support survivors of violence, establish stronger oversight of charter schools, and prevent youth from being kept on endless probation. 

This is how Democrats get into trouble, standing firmly in the uninspiring middle ground while fending off outsiders from their club. New York Dems got to see this play out with the contest between Zohran Mamdani and former governor Andrew Cuomo. We think Chris Espinosa in our chance to inspire people again. We especially appreciate that he was one of only seven candidates across the nation who was endorsed by Oil Change Action.

  • Just for comparison – this is the grade our region expects from its legislators:
    • A – State Senator Monique Limón
    • A – State Senator Henry Stern
    • A – Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel
    • A+ – Assemblymember Steve Bennett
INDIVIDUAL ENDORSEMENTSINDIVIDUAL ENDORSEMENTS
David Rodriguez, LULAC Director #17Dr. Dana Carlton, DDS MS
Matt Fienup, Private IndividualMartel Fraser, Retired Labor Leader
Leah Lacayo, Community LeaderLeslie Leavens, Farmer/Rancher
Chris Meissner, BusinessmanDavid Pollock, CEO of Propulsive Executive Services.
Dr. Richard Rush, Former President of CA State University Channel IslandsKeith Sinclair, Businessman
Craig Underwood, Underwood Family FarmsMarilyn Valenzuela, Retired Labor Leader

(Progressive Voters Guide) Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Asm. Irwin’s campaign has raised $556,553 and is funded by corporate contributions. Irwin has served in the state assembly since 2014, and scores a lifetime 49 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislators’ progressive voting record. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Asm. Irwin has supported few progressive bills that made it to a vote, earning her a spot in the Hall of Shame. She failed to vote on bills on consumer protections, support for survivors of violence, workers’ rights, economic justice, and public safety. In 2025, Asm. Irwin did not vote for bills to unmask ICE agents operating in California or prohibit employers from using only automated decision-making tools on HR decisions. In her tenure as Assemblymember, she’s been a recipient of significant contributions from real estate and law enforcement donors.” (Read more here)

Chris Espinosa (D) – Federal Policy Advisor ENDORSED

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RECOMMENDATION: YES. We were sold on RL Miller’s analysis of the debate, and added some other endorsements that we respect, as well, below the endorsement grid.

Sample of endorsements:

North valley dem
DOLORES HUERTA
Cause action fund

FORMER
Mayor
FORMER
DOLORES HUERTA
COMMUNITY MEMBERS & LEADERSCOMMUNITY MEMBERS & LEADERS
John Proctor, Former Mayor of Santa PaulaParminder Sidhu, Canoga Park Community Member
Laura Espinosa, Former Vice Mayor of Santa PaulaJon Huycke, Oxnard Community Member
Andres Herrera, Former Mayor Pro Tem of OxnardEsther Ravid, Woodland Hills Community Member

We think this pretty well explains why Chris Espinosa is the better choice for the 26th District!

(Progressive Voters Guide)

Elect Chris Espinosa to keep CD-26 on the right track for progress.

Progressive endorsements: Chris Espinosa has the endorsement of some groups, including Dolores Huerta Action Fund, CAUSE Action, Friends of the Earth Action, Climate Hawks Vote, and Santa Clara Valley Democratic Club. He is also supported by several community and elected leaders, including Rep. Adelita Grijalva, community attorney and advocate Barbara Macri-Ortiz, Oxnard Harbor Commissioner Jess Ramirez, and city councilmembers and school board trustees and members. 

Top issues: Cost of living, health care for all, democracy, immigration reform, digital privacy, and climate and environmental justice.

Governance and community leadership experience: Espinosa is a lifelong advocate who currently advises on community-centered public policy as founder and principal of Communities First Consulting. He previously served as legislative director of climate and energy at Earthjustice; director of outreach and engagement for the House Committee on Natural Resources; and cofounder, executive vice president, and chief operating officer of GreenLatinos. Across his career, he has fought for environmental justice, immigration reform, access to affordable health care, and workers’ rights, and has taken on polluters, corporate monopolies, and anti-worker interests. 

Other background: Espinosa is from Santa Paula. His mother was a local community advocate and city councilmember, and his father is a Vietnam veteran.

The Race

Primary election: There are nine candidates running in the June 2 primary, including Chris Espinosa (D), Jacqui Irwin (D), Sonia Kacker (D), Liam Hernandez (D), and Sasan Samadzaeh (D). The top two vote recipients will advance to the general election on November 3.

Candidate fundraising and pledges: Espinosa’s campaign has raised $67,952 and is not funded by fossil fuel, law enforcement, real estate, or corporate contributions.

Opposing candidate’s fundraising and pledges: Asm. Irwin’s campaign has raised $556,553 and is funded by corporate contributions. Irwin has served in the state assembly since 2014, and scores a lifetime 49 out of 100 on Courage Score, our annual analysis of legislators’ progressive voting record. Based on our Courage Score analysis, Asm. Irwin has supported few progressive bills that made it to a vote, earning her a spot in the Hall of Shame. She failed to vote on bills on consumer protections, support for survivors of violence, workers’ rights, economic justice, and public safety. In 2025, Asm. Irwin did not vote for bills to unmask ICE agents operating in California or prohibit employers from using only automated decision-making tools on HR decisions. In her tenure as Assemblymember, she’s been a recipient of significant contributions from real estate and law enforcement donors.” (Read more here)

(CA-DSA) Seven-term U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley announced her retirement in January 2026, opening up a seat that spans most of Ventura County and a slice of northwestern L.A. County including Westlake Village, Calabasas and Agoura Hills. Under Prop. 50, the district extends further east to Quartz Hill in the Antelope Valley, making the electorate bluer — 43% Democrat, 28% Republican. The district is majority white (though 43% Latino), and quite wealthy with 70% homeownership and a median income 20% higher than the rest of California’s.

The early frontrunner is Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), who carries Brownley’s endorsement and is term-limited out of her Assembly seat. Irwin previously served as mayor of Thousand Oaks and has represented communities in both Ventura and L.A. counties. Irwin was a classic conservative Democrat when she was in the Assembly, voting against bills that sought to curb police surveillance, provide more oversight of charter schools, and abstained from a vote that would have prohibited ICE from wearing face masks. 

Republican Michael Koslow, a military veteran whom Brownley narrowly beat in 2024, is running again, but thanks to Prop 50, no Republican is likely to get as close. Rather than Koslow, the main Republican challenger might actually be Sam Gallucci, a (stop us if you’ve heard this one before) white conservative businessman who wants more cops, mass deportations, and to stop the woke left. He thinks “Washington is full of talkers” , something that can be solved by… an evangelical pastor?

Anyway, the two remaining Democratic candidates are Sonia Devgan-Kacker, a doctor and small business owner who doesn’t support Medicare for All, and Chris Espinosa, a long-time environmental and Latino representation lobbyist who has worked in and outside of Congress since 2008. 

Espinosa’s website boasts endorsements from progressives/Berniecrats such as newly seated Arizona congresswoman Adelita Grijalva and United Farmworkers leader Dolores Huerta. He supports abolishing ICE, Medicare for All, and has sought the endorsement of Ventura County DSA. It’s going to be pretty tough to get a leftist candidate to the general in this race, but we definitely recommend voting for Chris Espinosa to take on the worst of the Democratic party in Jaqui Irwin.

(knock-la.com) Rep. Julia Brownley is retiring after representing this Ventura County–based district for 14 years. She has endorsed conservative Democrat Jacqui Irwin as her replacement. During Irwin’s 12 years in the Assembly, she consistently failed to support progressive legislation, including failing to support bills to strengthen eviction protections and to end indefinite probation for California youth.

Chris Espinosa is the co-founder of the environmental justice organization Green Latinos and long-time community advocate who was born and raised in Ventura County. He supports universal childcare, stronger tenant protections, Medicare for All, an end to corporate price gouging, and the abolition of ICE. Espinosa is endorsed by civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, local progressive community leaders, and environmental organizations.

Sasan Samadzadeh is a construction inspector whose family fled Iran to Ventura County when he was young. He supports progressive policies similar to Espinosa and also seeks to ban prediction markets, a corrosive new corporate industry that primarily exists to dodge sports betting regulations and taxes. Businessman Liam Hernandez also holds progressive positions.

Democrat Sonia Kacker is a family physician who owns and operates Westlake Village Urgent Care. She has a standard Democratic Party platform of evidence-based healthcare policies, clean energy investments, and lower prescription costs. Republicans Michael Koslow, Daniel Miller, and William Scott are also in the race. 

Knock LA recommends Espinosa based on his long track record of advocating for meaningful improvements for working people.

From his website: Chris Espinosa is a lifelong advocate who has spent nearly two decades fighting for working families. He’s taken on corporate special interests, and won. He has served in senior leadership roles in the U.S. House of Representatives and national advocacy organizations. Chris turns grassroots demands into action, delivering results.

EXPERIENCE THAT DELIVERS

Throughout his career, Chris has transformed values into action to deliver proven results:

  • FOR OUR HEALTH: Stood with civil rights leaders to ensure the Affordable Care Act delivered for our most vulnerable communities.
  • FOR EQUAL JUSTICE: Led high-level advocacy campaigns to support Senate confirmation of Justices Sotomayor and Kagan.
  • FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS: Fought back against polluters to win historic environmental justice funding in the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • FOR OUR WORKERS: Led the charge for worker rights and comprehensive immigration reform to protect the people who keep our country running.

We noted that Chris is one of only seven candidates across the country who have been endorsed by oilchangeaction.org, which means he was willing to take these two pledges

  • No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, opposing new fossil fuel projects, and advocating for a just transition to clean, affordable renewable energy.
  •  Green New Deal Pledge, a promise to use all of their political power to advance the strongest existing pieces of legislation to address the climate crisis and build a more just world. 

Liam Andres O’Neil Hernandez (D) – Businessman

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. Reread RL Miller’s review of Liam’s performance at the debate. He’s not ready.

NO ENDORSEMENTS

Sonia Kacker (D) – Physician

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. Reread RL Miller’s review of Sonia’s performance at the debate. Yes, she is a doctor. But it takes more than that to win.

NO ENDORSEMENTS

Sasan Samadzadeh (D) – Construction Inspector/Caretaker

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. Nice policies, no chance.

NO ENDORSEMENTS

Sam Gallucci (R) – Business Executive/Pastor

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. He’s the only candidate in our voter guide that received 5 STARS for his responses to the Election Forum candidate questionnaire. (posted below). Not going to recommended hard-core Christian Nationalists to positions of power.

Senator Shannon Grove
California State Senator		Jonathan Wagoner
Former CA-26 Candidate		Rev. Gerardo Núñez
Executive Pastor, Iglesia Fuente de Vida
Dr. Manuel Tigerino
President, Latin University of Theology		Rev. Edwin Recinos
Founding Pastor, City on a Hill Church		Apostle Carlos Quintero
Harvest Rock Hispana, Pasadena
Adam Lopez
Community Relations Director, Revive Community Church		Pastor Fermin Hernandez
Hill St. Family Christian Center		Pastor Grecia Castro
Senior Pastor & Founder, La Iglesia Cristiana de Oxnard
Dr. Rafael Porras
NuevaVision Radio CEO & Reverend		Mona Golastani
Founder, Perseverance Christian Academy
5 stars? Oh dear! He signed EVERYTHING!
We’ve added all the documents he had to sign to get this, their highest rating below, under “Election Forum Questionnaire!”

Michael Koslow (R)

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RECOMMENDATION: NO. Last time he was in our guide, he featured an endorsement from homophobic TX congressman Brian Babin who cosponsored a resolution to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. This time he has an endorsement for Tony Strickland, who political career is marked by a consistent record of opposition to LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy. We’re surprised he didn’t get a rating from the Election Forum folks.

Ventura County Young
Republicans
Brigadier General Daniel PembertonMajor General Dennis Lucas, CA Air National Guard

Daniel Miller (R) – Businessman/Actor/Artist

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In case you’ve forgotten RL Miller’s review:

NO ENDORSEMENTS

William “Bill” Scott (R) – Systems Engineer

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NO ENDORSEMENTS

ELECTION FORUM QUESETIONNAIRE AND ASSOCIATED PLEDGES

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Election Forum: Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire for Congress

Dear Candidate,

Congratulations on your decision to run for office.

For over 20 years, the ElectionForum.org has conducted California election forums where we make specific candidate recommendations.

Last election cycle we had about 1 million voters following our endorsements, many in your district.

Besides conducting a dozen live Election Forums and several webinars giving endorsements, we will be posting our endorsements of candidates on our four websites, emailing and publicizing our recommendations to several hundred thousand California voters.

In addition, our recommendations are also broadcast on radio stations.

In your office we will either say:

  • Endorsed…Giving you a 1 to 5 star rating
  • Not endorsed
  • Refused to disclose position

I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully giving you our endorsement.

  1. What is your name and what office are you running for?
  2. What is the proper role of the federal government in the economy?
  3. What is your view on abortion?
  4. Should the federal government fund Planned Parenthood?
  5. How would you reduce the federal deficit?
  6. Do you support Obamacare? Should it be repealed or kept?
  7. Do Americans pay too much, too little or just the right amount on Federal Taxes? What would you do about it?
  8. What federal politician do you admire most and why?
  9. Should the minimum wage be raised?
  10. Should the federal government do anything to support the value of the dollar on the world market? Why or why not? Should we modify any of our free trade agreements? Why or why not? Should we seek more free trade agreements?
  11. Have you signed a “no new tax” pledge? Why or why not?
  12. Have you signed the Manhattan Declaration or the Families First pledge? Why or why not? You can view the Manhattan Declaration here. You can view the Families First pledge here.
  13. Do you believe in absolute truth? Why or why not? If you believe in absolute truth, what is the source of absolute truth? If you do not believe in absolute truth, how do you determine what is true?

MANHATTAN DECLARATION:

Since Sam got 5 stars, we’re guessing he signed this rant against abortion and the civil rights of marriage LGBTQ+ to marry.

FAMILIES FIRST PLEDGE

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