Federal: U.S. Representative, 24th Congressional District

Note: this post will be periodically updated! (10/07/2026)

TOP * Salud Carbajal (D) * Bob Smith (R)

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS:

U.S. Representative – 24th Congressional District – Vote for (1)

ENDORSED Rep. Salud Carbajal (D) – Member of Congress

TOP * Salud Carbajal (D) * Bob Smith (R)

RECOMMENDATION: YES, but we want to use this quote from KNOCK-LA’s endorsement of Steyer…

“It’s a strange position to find ourselves in, but remember: an elected official is a battlefield, not a general. We don’t count on elected leaders to simply take care of us out of the goodness of their souls — we have to engage with them, push them, and challenge them, even the ones we support, to accomplish our goals.”

Rep. Carbajal disappointed many of us with his support for the National Defense Authorization (NDAA), which prohibited the “military’s health-care system from providing gender-affirming care to children of U.S. service members…” It certainly was incongruous for a congressman who’s been endorsed by the likes of Equality California. We, his constituents, need to push him harder to walk a more progressive line, by calling his office regularly and engaging with his staff.

For this election, we need him to beat out the deceptively benign Bob Smith (R). With all his protestation that he has a Democrat for a wife, his endorsements tell a different story.

  • Party: Democrat
  • Age: 61
  • Residence: Santa Barbara
  • Education: B.A. from UCSB, M.A. in organizational management from Fielding University
  • Employment & experience:
    • Congressman for CA-24 since 2017
    • Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors (2005-2016)
    • Staff for Santa Barbara County Supervisor Naomi Schwartz (1993-2004)
    • Marine Corps Reserve, including active service in the Gulf War in 1991 (1984-1992)
  • Priorities:
    • Veterans: Expand healthcare, housing assistance, and mental health services.
    • Jobs: Invest in infrastructure, raising the minimum wage, and promoting clean energy.
    • Middle Class: Lower the cost of living, housing, food, and prescriptions.
    • Education: Make college affordable via Pell Grants and student loan reform.
    • Health Care: Protect the ACA, lowering prescription costs, and defending Medicare.
    • Environment: Ban offshore drilling and advancing clean energy initiatives.
    • Gun Safety: Pass universal background checks and red flag laws.
    • Retirement: Protect Social Security and Medicare from privatization.
    • Reproductive Rights: Codify the right to choose nationwide.
  • Contributions  (All PACs that support this candidate may not be identifiable.)
    • Contributions (as of 6/30/2026): $1,636,087
    • Top Contributors:
      • American Crystal Sugar Co. PAC $10,000
      • Airline Pilots Assoc. PAC $10,000
      • Ginger Salazar $7,000
      • Assoc. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers $5,000
      • CHC Bold PAC $5,000
      • American Council of Engineering Companies $5,000
      • Wine and Spirits Wholesalers PAC $5,000
      • Edison International PAC $5,000
  • Link to more detailed contribution info: https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00576041/
  • Notable Endorsements:
    • Organizations – Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Brady United Against Gun Violence, Planned Parenthood, CAUSE, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, End Citizens United, Everytown for Gun Safety, Indivisible Rapid Response Team SLO, Equality California
    • Labor – teachers, farm workers, longshore and warehouse workers, firefighters, SEIU, electricians, UAW, healthcare workers, building and construction trades
    • Links:
    • Campaign Website: https://www.saludcarbajal.com/
    • Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarbajalForCongress/ Campaign X: https://x.com/carbajalsalud

Sample of endorsements

CADEM
California Young Democrats
Santa Barbara Women's Political comm
sierra club
CA league of conservative voters
equality CA
Brady
UFW
Cause action fund
VoteVets
CA fed. of teachersCA Teachers association
NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTH WORKERSSEIU 721
international warehouse-socalCentral Coast Labor CouncilIBEW NATIONAL
UAW
Liana
Ventura Co. Professional Firefighters
PORAC
Santa Barbara Independent

(Santa Barbara Independent) At ths moment of upheaval, we’d be insane not to send Carbajal back for another term in Congress. The Democrat has been representing Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo in Washington since 2017, having won his seat the same year Donald Trump first won the White House. In many regards, Carbajal, the son of Mexican immigrants who worked the fields of Oxnard, and Trump, who rode down his golden escalator to power by bashing immigrants as “drug mules and rapists,” have been shadowboxing ever since. 

With Trump now waging a quasi-jihad against California, we need Congressional representatives who will defend the Golden State. That is definitely Salud Cabajal. 

For most of his career, Carbajal has been a reach-across-the-aisle guy. More recently, he’s grown more openly pugilistic, telling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to his face that he should resign. 

Theatrics aside, Carbajal has a genius for knowing where the money is. He brings home the bacon, and not just as a campaign fundraiser. Across his 10 years in office, Carbajal claims he secured $8 billion in federal funds for his district. Last month, he secured $6.4 million in federal funds to dredge Santa Barbara’s harbor after the federal government proposed cutting $4 million. Without annual dredging, no boats could get in or out of the harbor. By invoking national security — ironically one of Trump’s favorite rationales — Carbajal shook the dredging money loose. 

During the Biden administration, Carbajal managed to win passage of a low-cost spending bill to make it easier for law enforcement officials to take guns away from individuals showing intense emotional volatility. A modest bill, perhaps, but it is the only bill that Congress passed in more than 30 years that addresses gun violence. Nobody except Carbajal has come close to getting anything passed. Impressive, yet still very depressing.

One major accomplishment for Carbajal was a wind farm in federal waters off Morro Bay. Carbajal painstakingly put the pieces together, working with dueling stakeholders. A first step, but a giant one. Three weeks ago, Trump killed those leases. He ordered the money returned, but only if the funds were used to pursue oil, natural gas, or coal.

We have our differences with Carbajal, of course. We cringed when Carbajal followed the party line and shrugged off President Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump as “a sluggish night.”

We certainly wished Carbajal had shown more moral outrage as Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack with a campaign of wholesale slaughter against Gaza.

But despite these differences, we believe strongly that Salud Cabajal is a conscientious and effective representative in Congress. He deserves our support. We urge a vote for Salud Carbajal. 

Bob Smith (R) – Defense Systems Engineer

TOP * Salud Carbajal (D) * Bob Smith (R)

RECOMMENDATION: NO. As we said up in Salud’s section, we believe that Bob is not what he wants you to think he is, a genial middle-of-the-road-guy, able to kibbitz without issue with his Democrat wife. His collection of endorsements indicates something else entirely, and turning him loose into an office with political power, where he doesn’t have to temper himself, would be a mistake.We also know that if elected, he will add his votes to the GOP’s toxic campaign to overthrow democracy through the dictates of Project 2025.

Hey, we’ve actually met Bob!

We met Bob at our tent at the Fourth of July Street Fair in downtown Ventura. And HE CAME IN HOT! We’d listed him as 50 years old on our Voter Guide for the primary, and dammit, apparently BOB WASN’T 50 YEARS OLD!

Oh, the humanity! (We still don’t know how old his is, but seriously, we don’t care.)

Let us explain to you, using his own materials, what we learned about Bob. This graphic is the top of this strange “scorecard” he created on his website to compare his record of doing something that is completely different than Carbajal’s job..

BOB’s site
Can we talk about the “Less is better” thing?
A more seasoned legislator would not have thrown a hissy-fit at a potential voter, and especially not in front of the crew that writes these snarky voter guides!
Why exactly should we elect a novice? Every bit of this candidate’s campaign is about his previous military experience. Yet here, in a complicated, public-facing job in an unrelated field, he has decided that being a newbie is better.
He earned it. Salud Carbajal started out at the county supervisor level, where he learned about local issues and how government worked. Voters thought he’d paid his dues and he earned a congressional seat. He can communicate with constituents in Spanish and has actually done some of the back-breaking farm labor in his youth.
Bob has not paid his dues in local office. Bob wants to start out at game level “CONGRESSMAN,” before we know if he’s effective at it, or is just an angry man (checks notes) who is NOT 50 YEARS OLD!
BOB’s site
“Nothing left in the drawer.”
This probably means something else in military parlance, but for the rest of us, the best definitions are:
– “You have run out of ideas, patience, backup plans, or clever strategies to solve a problem.”
– “You have spent all your emergency money or savings and have no funds remaining.”
Know your audience, Bob!
Bob knows nothing about how Congress works – Typically only about 2% to 7% of introduced bills become law. This low success rate is largely because many bills are introduced for symbolic, ceremonial, or constituent-reassurance reasons rather than with the expectation of passing. In the 118th Congress, out of approximately 19,300 bills introduced, roughly 3% were enacted. But, Bob please! Keep pointing out what you don’t know!
to “No PAC Money”
We agree with Bob here, and will continue to push our state and federal legislators to remove the ability of corporations to pour money into elections.
It’s not enough, Bob! That he didn’t take PAC money is not enough to elect him to Congress.
BOB’s site
We agree that there should be a standalone bill to prevent members of Congress from profiting on stocks, like the HONEST Act, which would have prevented members of Congress from profiting off stocks, along with the President, the Vice President and their grifty family members as well.
Stop crying over this weak-ass bill! The Stop Insider Trading Act that Bob is all butthurt over died a well-deserved death in the Senate, both because it it had been watered down to almost nothing and it had been paired with the odious SAVE Act. The HONEST Act was derailled by a GOP senator. Should have been complaining about that, Bob!
BOB’s site
Bob doesn’t get constituent calls. Maybe he doesn’t realize that constituents were calling and emailing Carbajal’s office and asking the congressman do whatever he could to stop the odious SAVE Act. This voter suppression legislation would disproportionately harm women and lower-income people in his district.

Let’s see if we can clarify this for Bob.

REP. CARBAJAL REPRESENTED THE WISHES OF HIS CONSTITUENTS!
BOB’s site
Maybe he was just really busy. Or maybe his schedule was really screwed up by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s shenanigans of sending them home and dragging them back. Maybe he thought Bob was a crank. Hard to say.
BOB’s site
BOB’s site
This is a really weird obsession, Bob!
What’s with Bob and “standalone” bills? He using standalone bills as a strange yardstick to measure what congresspeople do. So we looked it up. Influential congressmembers like AOC, or Bernie Sanders haven’t passed many standalone bills either. Most independent legislative trackers note that standalone, personally sponsored bills that completely pass on their own are rare for any individual lawmaker.
Naming post offices to honor living American heroes is nice!
– (carbajal) He got a USPS office in Santa Maria re-named the “Larry Lavagnino Post Office Building.” Mr. Lavagnino is a longtime resident of Santa Maria, a Navy vet, and a former mayor who served in Santa Maria from 2002 – 20012.
– (carbajal) Rep. Carbajal is currently promoting a bill to rename the USPS office in Santa Barbara, California, as the “Brigadier General Frederick R. Lopez Post Office Building.” General Lopez is a Santa Barbara County native and Cal Poly graduate who served in the Marines for 30 years. It is a cool thing to do and the General feels very honored.
What else has Carbajal done? He has introduced 146 pieces of legislation as a primary sponsor during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representative, including two landmark pieces of legislation in response to the 2019 Conception boat fire: The Small – Passenger Vessel Safety Act (signed into law in January 2021): This bill mandated new safety requirements for small passenger vessels, such as multiple escape routes and updated smoke detector systems, to prevent similar tragedies.
– The Small Passenger Vessel Safety Act became law on January 1, 2021. It was passed by Congress as part of the Elijah E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 following the tragic 2019 Conception boat fire off the California coast.
– He was also a key supporter of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, designated in 2024, which now protects more than 100 miles of California coastline and ecosystems as the third largest marine sanctuary in U.S. history.
– His advocacy in Congress has also delivered more than $50 million in federal funding for a wide range of Central Coast projects, from upgrades for local health clinics and food banks to support for first responders and municipal police departments.
BOB’s site
Dick measuring – Part 1
Does this make sense to you? Lots more experience in the military = “More is better,” whereas less experience in the job he wants = “Less is better.” Huh… (Refer to first question)
Does he speak our language? We wonder, in fact, if 26 years in the military, one of the most rigidly structured professions possible, has actually stunted Bob’s ability to deal with non-military folks who don’t have to follow his orders.
Does he know that military service is not a requirement to serving in Congress? There are effective legislators who’ve NEVER served in the military. Rep. Julia Brownley, who has never served, has done a huge tremendous amount of work to help veterans in this county. 16 U.S. presidents have not served in the military, including the present one, who dodged service by fraud.
BOB’s site
Dick measuring – Part 2
Enough of this! We are now alarmed by his obsessiveness over things that aren’t as important to constituents. We need a representative who is actually is willing to act like REPRESENTATIVE, not some weird pro-wrestler character.
BOB’s site
Well done, Bob! We congratulate Bob on “winning” a game that only he knew he was playing!

Also from his website. We annotated it a bit – the red and cartoon bits are ours.

  • Party: Before Sept. 18th, he was a Republican. On that day, he re-registered as an independent.
  • Age: unknown
  • Residence: Carpinteria
  • Education:
    • BS in General Engineering Technology from Old Dominion, MS in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey
  • Employment & experience:
    • U.S. Navy service, including combat deployments and advanced weapons systems, advancing from enlisted sailor to Commander (1998- 2024)
  • Priorities:
    • Affordability – Cut wasteful spending, lower the cost of housing, energy, and food, and expand homeownership for working families.
    • Education – Reading, math, and STEM excellence, vocational pathways, and research partnerships with UCSB and Cal Poly.
    • Energy and Water – A balanced grid with reliable baseload power, coastline protection, and secure water storage and drought resilience.
    • Immigration – Secure the border, remove violent offenders, provide legal clarity for long term residents, and modernize agricultural and seasonal visas.
    • Defending America – Stop fentanyl at the source, lead in AI and cyber defense, and strengthen Vandenberg SFB and Naval Base Ventura County.
  • Contributions  (All PACs that support this candidate may not be identifiable.)
    • Contributions (as of 6/30/2026): $173,660
    • Top Contributors:
  • Links:
COMMUNITY LEADERS
– April’s Common Sense Cali Voters (Sway voting group by April Silverman (Cali MAGA Barbie))
– Based in Malibu (Sway voting group by Based in Malibu)
– Elizabeth Barcohana’s Lady with a Brain Voter Guide (Sway voting group by Elizabeth – Barcohana)
– The Morning Answer with Jennifer Horn
3-stars for Mr. “Nothing-to-see-here” Smith. Check out the questionnaire for this in the yellow box below. He must have take this survey to get his 3-star rating.

ELECTION FORUM QUESTIONNAIRE AND ASSOCIATED PLEDGES

Back to Top

Election Forum: Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire for Congress

  • 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