by Garrett FriskCalifornia's Senate primary continues to barrel onwards, and even though the primary is less than 6 months away, there are still new candidates entering the race. Here are some of the California Senate candidates who have yet to receive coverage from other media sources:
by Garrett FriskThe primary purpose of Diamond Eye Candidate Report is to bring attention to candidates who haven't otherwise received any news coverage, especially congressional candidates. But ironically, the people whose declarations of candidacy most often go unreported are the incumbent members of Congress themselves. Some incumbents send out a press release confirming their re-election plans, but most quietly file their paperwork without making an announcement; in many cases, nobody knows for sure that a member of Congress is seeking re-election until the final candidate list is released. That's why Diamond Eye Candidate Report emailed the office of every member of Congress who has yet to publicly announce whether they'll seek another term in 2024 to determine who has and hasn't made up their mind. This article will be continuously updated as more offices get back to us. As of now, these are the responses we have gotten: Running for re-election
Still deciding
by Garrett FriskIt's that time once again, where Diamond Eye Candidate Report takes a look at the candidates for U.S. House in California who have yet to receive attention from other media sources. But before we begin, we have updates on two of the candidates mentioned in previous roundups. Diamond Eye Candidate Report previously noted that meteorologist and community activist Ben Dewell was running in the 20th district as a Democrat, while Republican businessman Stan Caplan was running again for the 51st district after reaching the general election in 2022. Since then, both Dewell and Caplan have indicated they will run as independents. With that out of the way, onto the roundup. As always, all of the following candidates have filed with the FEC and confirmed that they will be running in the 2024 elections. In the 3rd district, freshman Republican Kevin Kiley has his first Democratic challenger, as eCommerce businessman Douglas Huhn has stepped up to run. Kiley, a former state assemblyman who gained prominence for his candidacy in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, was first elected to this district in 2022 with 53.6% of the vote. This is considered a battleground district for 2024, and it is likely that more Democrats will join the race. Huhn's campaign website can be found here. In the 14th district, Democratic incumbent Eric Swalwell is facing a challenge from Republican Joseph "Doc" Grcar. Grcar, a computational scientist, ran for the 20th district of the California State Assembly in 2022; he took 21.7% of the vote in the primary, missing out on the general election by less than 3%. Much like the state assembly district Grcar ran for, the 14th congressional district is very liberal, giving Swalwell 69.3% of the vote in his 2022 re-election campaign. Grcar's website can be found here. In the 23rd district, Democrat Miguel Arceo has joined the race against two-term Republican incumbent Jay Obernolte. Arceo is a supporter of Bernie Sanders and his Medicare for All proposal. He faces an uphill battle against Obernolte, who defeated Democrat Derek Marshall with 61.0% of the vote in his 2022 re-election bid; Marshall is also in the running for this district in 2024. Arceo's website can be found here. In the 25th district, Republican Ian Weeks wants to be his party's standard-bearer against Democrat Raul Ruiz. Weeks ran for the 36th state assembly district in 2022, reaching the general election and polling 46.6% of the vote against incumbent Democrat Eduardo Garcia. Ruiz, for his part, won re-election with 57.4% of the vote in 2022. Weeks, a financial planner, does not seem to have established a campaign website yet, but his campaign Facebook page can be found here. In the 30th district, a Democrat and a Republican have joined the crowded race to replace Democrat Adam Schiff, who is running for Senate. Steve Dunwoody, an educator and Iraq War veteran, is the Democrat. Dunwoody served as special assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Energy during the Obama administration and is currently the director of government affairs for an environmental group. His website can be found here. The Republican is Eric Sawchuk, a businessman and community activist. Sawchuk's website can be found here. Dunwoody has a much better path to victory than Sawchuk; Schiff was re-elected with 71.1% of the vote in 2022 against another Democrat, nearly matching the 72.2% vote share that Joe Biden took in the district in 2020. In the 33rd district, Republican Sarah Sun Liew has stepped up to challenge Democratic incumbent Pete Aguilar. Sun Liew is a Korean immigrant who has worked as a real estate and mortgage broker and in the investment management industry. She ran for this district back in 2020 when the incumbent was Democrat Ted Lieu, finishing fourth in the primary with 6.3% of the vote. She then ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, taking just 1.1% of the primary vote. If she reaches the general election, Sun Liew will have a tough time unseating Aguilar, who was re-elected with 57.7% of the vote in 2022. Her website can be found here. In the 35th district, incumbent Democrat Norma Torres is facing an intra-party challenge from fellow Democrat Melissa May. May is an educator and nonprofit director who was elected to the Mountain View School District Board of Trustees in 2022, though she had to give up her seat in order to care for her dying father. This is a very liberal district, and Torres was re-elected with 57.4% of the vote in 2022. May's website can be found here. In the 42nd district, freshman Democrat Robert Garcia faces a challenge from a previous foe, as communications consultant Nicole López has announced that she will run again in 2024. López, a communications consultant, was one of several progressive Democrats who ran for this district in 2022 when it was an open seat; due to the split vote, progressives feared that the more moderate Garcia would reach the general election with a Republican opponent. This scenario came to pass, though the Republican's vote share was more than all of the progressives combined. In the general election, Garcia easily dispatched the Republican with 68.4% of the vote. López was not the leading progressive in the 2022 primary, finishing fifth with 3.4% of the vote, but her performance could improve in a one-on-one race with Garcia. In the first quarter of 2023, López raised $50, spent $150, and ended with $200 on hand. Her website can be found here. Finally, in the 50th district, incumbent Democrat Scott Peters also has an announced intra-party challenger. Timothy Bilash, an obstetrician-gynecologist, is running as a Democrat; he previously ran for this district in 2022, but dropped out before the primary. This is a staunchly liberal district, and Peters was re-elected with 62.8% of the vote in 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, Bilash raised $11,002, spent $9,188, and ended with $2,100 on hand. His website can be found here. by Garrett FriskBack in April, Diamond Eye Candidate Report detailed the candidates running in California's 2024 U.S. House elections who had not yet received any media coverage. Since then, numerous other candidates have launched their campaigns in this state with 52 congressional districts. The following candidates have filed with the FEC and announced campaigns: In the 6th congressional district, Republican Bret Daniels will take a second shot at Democrat Ami Bera. The vice mayor of the town of Citrus Heights, Daniels campaigned for this district in 2022 but finished third in the primary with 11.6% of the vote. In the first quarter of 2023, Daniels did not raise any money, but spent $511 and ended with $488 on hand. His campaign website can be found here. Another Republican, communications consultant Craig DeLuz, has also entered the race. After failed campaigns for Sacramento County supervisor and Sacramento City Council, DeLuz was elected to the Robla School District board in 2005 and served for 10 years, at one point becoming board president. He also mounted a failed bid for California State Assembly in 2010. His website can be found here. In the 7th district, Republican Max Semenenko is back for another campaign against Democrat Doris Matsui. A realtor and real estate developer, Semenenko briefly served on the North Highlands Recreation and Park District Board in 2021 before mounting a campaign for this district in 2022. He advanced to the general election and took 31.7% of the vote. In the first quarter of 2023, Semenenko raised $300, spent $2,134, and ended with $8,499 on hand. His website can be found here. It is unclear if Semenenko has officially announced his 2024 campaign, but he is still making Facebook posts with the hashtags "#maxsemenenkoforcongress" and "#vote", so it is safe to assume he is running. In the 10th district, incumbent Democrat Mark DeSaulnier announced he would run for re-election in 2024. After serving in both houses of the California State Legislature and as a Contra Costa County supervisor, DeSaulnier ran for the 11th congressional district in 2014 to replace retiring Democrat George Miller. DeSaulnier faced no serious Democratic opposition in the primary and took 67.3% of the vote against Republican Tue Pham, a former San Francisco Immigration Court judge, in the general election. Redistricting moved him to the 10th district in 2021, and in 2022 he defeated Green Party candidate Michael Kerr with 78.9% of the vote. In the first quarter of 2023, DeSaulnier raised $87,994, spent $31,519, and ended with $631,838 on hand. His website can be found here. In the 12th district, psychologist and social worker Denard Ingram is running to replace Democrat Barbara Lee, who is running for U.S. Senate. The Democrat initially said he'd run for Senate in 2024, but later decided to run for House instead. Ingram's website can be found here. In the 18th district, Republican Peter Hernandez is back for another try against Democrat Zoe Lofgren. A former member and chairman of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, Hernandez ran for this district in 2022 and took 34.2% of the vote in the general election. In the first quarter of 2023, Hernandez raised $725, spent $711, and ended with $2,312 on hand. His website can be found here. There is also a Democrat in the race, IT consultant Luele Kifle. Kifle's website can be found here. In the 20th district, meteorologist and community activist Ben Dewell will once again challenge House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Dewell, who calls himself an "Independent Democrat," ran for this district in 2022 and finished third in the primary with 7.3% of the vote. He has confirmed that he will run again in 2024. Dewell ended the first quarter of 2023 with $563 on hand, raising $1 and spending no money. His website can be found here. In the 29th district, Angélica Dueñas will run against Democrat Tony Cárdenas for the fourth straight time. After finishing fourth in the 2018 jungle primary as a Green Party candidate, Dueñas came back as a Democrat in 2020 and reached the general election, taking 43.4% of the vote against Cárdenas. In the 2022 general election, a rematch of the 2020 election, Dueñas took only 41.5%. A community activist, Dueñas has served on the Sun Valley neighborhood council and the Los Angeles Democratic County Central Committee. In the first quarter of 2023, Dueñas raised $2,086, spent $2,034, and ended with $5,885 on hand. Her website can be found here. It is unclear if she has officially announced her 2024 candidacy, but she posted an announcement for a Twitter Space in April that includes "Congressional Candidate CA-29" under her name. In the 40th district, incumbent Republican Young Kim is seeking another term, and has launched a WinRed page asking for help "to protect my district in 2024." Kim, who served one term in the State Assembly before losing re-election in 2016, originally ran for Congress in 2018. In the general election, initial counts seemed to show that she had defeated Democrat Gil Cisneros; a now-infamous Reddit post made the day after the election showed a photo of Kim and said "last night, she was elected as the first Korean-American Congresswoman," gaining over 67 thousand upvotes. But as more ballots were counted, Cisneros closed the gap, leading to allegations of election tampering from both sides. In the end, Cisneros clinched a narrow victory. Kim had the last laugh, though; she came back in 2020 and unseated Cisneros, going on to win a second term in 2022 with 56.8% of the vote. In the first quarter of 2023, Kim raised $845,236 for her re-election bid, spending $342,099 and ending with $902,615 on hand. Her website can be found here. Meanwhile, 2022 candidate Brian Hawkins is switching both his district and his party. In 2022, Hawkins ran for the 25th district as a Republican, taking 39.4% of the vote against Democrat Raul Ruiz in the general election. However, Hawkins has since undergone a change of heart (and, apparently, location), as he is now running for the 41st district as a Democrat, challenging incumbent Republican Ken Calvert. Hawkins does not seem to have formally announced his campaign, but the homepage of his website reads "Join the Movement 2024." In the 47th district, outpatient surgery company CEO Julia Hashemieh has joined the race to succeed Democrat Katie Porter, who is running for U.S. Senate. The Republican does not seem to have launched a campaign website yet, but she does have an Anedot fundraising page. In the first quarter of 2023, Hashemieh raised $18,274 and spent none of it, leaving her with $18,274 on hand. Finally, in the 49th district, IT businesswoman Sheryl Adams is taking on incumbent Democrat Mike Levin. A Republican, Adams has served as a panelist for the Congressional Smart Cities Caucus. Her campaign website can be found here. by Garrett FriskCalifornia has the most congressional districts of any state, with 52. With so many House races to cover, news outlets tend to focus on major candidates, and there are numerous candidates who filed with the FEC and are actively campaigning but haven't received any news coverage. Here is a list of the candidates for U.S. House in California who don't seem to have been covered by other sources: In the 5th congressional district, attorney and accountant Mike Barkley is back for another run against Republican Tom McClintock. The Democrat has run for Congress numerous times, but 2022 was the first time he reached the general election, polling 39.9% of the vote against McClintock. His campaign website can be found here, but he says he no longer has access to that page, and this is instead his main website. Barkley said on Facebook that he would drop out of the race if another Democrat won the approval of the county committees in the district. There is another Democrat in the race, college professor Jason Kassel, but he does not seem to have a good relationship with Democratic county committees. Kassel's website can be found here. In the 6th district, realtor Chris Bish will once again vie to be the Republican standard-bearer against Democrat Ami Bera. Bish ran for this district in 2022, but finished fourth in the primary. She also ran for the previous iteration of the 6th district in 2020, back when the incumbent was Doris Matsui; in that race, she reached the general election and took 26.7% of the vote. Bish's website can be found here. In the 8th district, businessman Rudy Recile is mounting a second campaign against Democrat John Garamendi. Recile, a Republican, ran for this district in 2022 and advanced to the general election, taking 25.5% of the vote. His website can be found here. Not every candidate is a repeat challenger. In the 9th district, pastor Brett Dood is making what appears to be his first run for Congress, seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Josh Harder. Republicans heavily targeted this district in 2022, but Harder surprised many by taking over 54% of the vote in the general election. Republicans still included Harder on their initial list of House targets, but Democrats left him off their list of vulnerable Democratic incumbents. Dood may find himself the Republican standard-bearer if his party is not able to field a more high-profile candidate. His website can be found here. In the 13th district, public health educator Angelina Sigala is challenging freshman Republican John Duarte. A Democrat, Sigala ran for this district in 2022 but did not appear on the primary ballot. Her website can be found here. In the 25th district, businesswoman Ceci Truman is back for a second run against Democrat Raul Ruiz. In her 2022 campaign for this district, Truman finished sixth in the primary with 1.9% of the vote. Her website can be found here. In the 28th district, activist Kerry Lewis is challenging incumbent Democrat Judy Chu. This appears to be his first campaign for public office. Lewis's campaign website appears to be down, but his Polywork page can be found here. Meanwhile, in the 48th district, nurse Stephen Houlahan is taking a second shot at Republican Darrell Issa. When he ran for this district in 2022, Houlahan advanced to the general election and took 39.9% of the vote. The Democrat previously served as a city councilor in the suburban town of Santee, located in San Diego County. His website can be found here. Finally, in the 51st district, businessman Stan Caplan wants a rematch with Democrat Sara Jacobs. In 2022, Caplan ran for this district and took 41.0% of the vote against Jacobs in the general election. His website can be found here. by Garrett FriskLongtime California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is not seeking re-election in 2024, creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the state's aspiring politicians. Due to the high population and extensive geographic and racial diversity of California, there is no shortage of people who want to be the state's next Senator, many of whom might never get another shot. Most press coverage of the 2024 California Senate race has focused on the three major candidates-- Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee--but there are several other candidates who have filed paperwork with the FEC and launched campaigns. Here are some of them: Raji Rab is a commercial pilot who has also worked as an educator. He lives in West Hills, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. He has run against U.S. Representative Brad Sherman in every election since 2016, though he has never advanced to the general election. His best performance was in 2016, when he finished fourth with 5.4% of the vote. He also ran for Los Angeles City Council in 2019 and finished last in the primary, polling 1.5% of the vote. He is a Democrat and supports Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. His website can be found here. Jessica Resendez is a digital content editor and progressive activist. A Democrat, she grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area but now lives in Yuba City, the seat of Sutter County. Her campaign Facebook page can be found here. Roxanne Lawler is a contract administrator from San Jose. She is a Republican, and this appears to be her first candidacy for public office. Her campaign Twitter can be found here. Fepbrina Keivaulqe Autiameineire is a nonprofit administrator from Gilroy, a city in Santa Clara County. An independent, she is also running for U.S. House in the 18th congressional district against incumbent Democrat Zoe Lofgren. Autiameineire previously ran for both U.S. Senate and the 27th congressional district in 2022, but failed to make the ballot in either race. Her website can be found here. It will be difficult for any of these minor candidates to run a serious campaign. The 2024 California Senate race is expected to be one of the most expensive elections in U.S. history. |
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