Editor’s note: This story is one in a series on the June 2 primary election. For more coverage, visit vcstar.com/news/elections.
No matter how this year’s elections turn out, most of Ventura County will have a new U.S. House representative.
California’s 26th Congressional District covers all of Ventura County except for the cities of Ventura and Simi Valley and most of the Ojai Valley. Starting with this election, it also extends into Los Angeles County to the outskirts of Lancaster and Palmdale. Since 2013, it has been represented by Democrat Julia Brownley, but she is retiring when her current term expires.
Nine candidates are running to replace Brownley in the June 2 primary election: five Democrats and four Republicans. Under California’s open primary system, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election.
Chris Espinosa
Occupation: Federal policy adviser
City of Residence: Santa Paula
Age: 42
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s in business management with a concentration in public administration from the University of Phoenix
Military service: none
Elected office: none
Criminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: I participated in a peaceful civil disobedience protest on the steps of the US Capitol in defense of immigrants in 2017 and was cited for unlawful assembly.
Campaign website: EspinosaForCongress.com
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
My top priority is lowering the cost of living and restoring economic stability. People are being squeezed by rising housing costs, unaffordable healthcare, increasing utility bills and the growing price of groceries and other basic necessities.I plan to advance policies that lower costs and strengthen economic power for working people. That includes fighting for Medicare for All, supporting the PRO Act so workers can organize, restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit and raising the federal minimum wage.I will push for federal investments in affordable housing, stronger tenant protections and restrictions on hedge funds and private equity firms buying housing. I support investments in clean energy, public transportation and modern infrastructure.I will fight to make corporations and the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share so we can invest in the public goods families rely on instead of forcing working people to carry the burden alone.
With the cost of living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
First, I would work to reduce healthcare costs by fighting for Medicare for All and lowering prescription drug prices.
Second, I would tackle housing affordability by expanding federal affordable housing investments, preserving public housing, supporting first-time homebuyer assistance, strengthening tenant protections and stopping large corporate investors from buying up homes and driving up prices.
Third, I would focus on increasing wages and strengthening worker protections. That means supporting unions, passing the PRO Act, raising the minimum wage, combating wage theft and ensuring workers share in the wealth they create.
I would support policies that lower utility and transportation costs by expanding clean energy and public transportation investments and ensuring that students are not saddled with debt by fighting for free public college and vocational trade schools.
Finally, I support closing corporate tax loopholes, increasing taxes on billionaires and mega-corporations and strengthening oversight to ensure consumers are not exploited.
Sam Gallucci
Occupation: Former business executive, nonprofit leader and pastor
City of residence: Oxnard
Age: 67
Party affiliation: Republican
Education: Associate’s degree from Grossmont College, bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University
Military service: none
Elected office: none
Criminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: none
Campaign website: samgallucci.com
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
Lower the cost of living. California’s high cost of living is largely a result of state policies such as high housing prices, costly gas and groceries and a complex regulatory environment with more than 430,000 regulations. These issues have forced businesses to relocate and created financial challenges for residents.
To tackle affordability, I intend to contest state regulations contributing to the increased cost of living, especially those conflicting with federal law, by working through the U.S. Department of Justice. I will use federal resources to help retain jobs, offer incentives for first-time homebuyers, promote an increase in gas supply and expand opportunity zones within my district.
By pursuing these strategies, I aim to make California more affordable and support economic growth, ultimately easing the financial pressure on families and encouraging businesses to stay and thrive in the state.
With the cost of living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
Increase the number of high paying jobs and affordable housing. My approach to easing the cost of living in California centers on increasing access to high-paying jobs and affordable housing.
To accomplish this, I support expanding education opportunities and establishing more trade schools, which will equip residents with valuable skills for the workforce. I propose creating an entrepreneur center that links small business owners with micro funding and federal resources, helping them launch and grow their enterprises.
By focusing on ways to reduce construction expenses for new homes, I aim to make housing more accessible for all.
Additionally, I am dedicated to backing federal efforts to identify and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse – key factors that drive up costs. Through these combined strategies, I believe we can foster economic growth, make California more affordable and ensure families have access to the quality jobs and housing they need to thrive.
Liam Andres O’Neill Hernandez
Occupation: Businessman, small business owner
City of residence: Camarillo
Age: 26
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Currently pursuing political science at Oxnard College and business coursework at Los Angeles Mission College
Military service: none
Elected office: noneCriminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: None
Campaign website: liamhernandezforcongress.comWhat’s your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
My top priority is building an economy that works for working people not corporations by lowering costs and guaranteeing essential rights like healthcare, childcare and economic security. Too many families are struggling to afford basic necessities while corporate profits continue to rise.
I support Medicare for All because healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. I support universal free childcare and paid family and medical leave so no one has to choose between work and caring for their loved ones. I also support abolishing ICE and replacing it with a humane, accountable immigration system that respects human dignity.
To accomplish this, I will push for major federal investment in housing to expand supply and lower costs, take on corporate price gouging, strengthen unions to raise wages and fight for tax fairness so the wealthy finally pay their fair share. We need bold, structural change, and I’m ready to fight for it.
With the cost of living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
Addressing rising costs requires a people-first approach that lowers everyday expenses while expanding opportunity. Too many families are being priced out of their communities and forced to make impossible financial choices.
I support major investments in public transportation, including exploring a light rail connection and expanding Ventura County and Santa Clarita bus service. I also strongly support the Green New Deal, with a special focus on infrastructure and public transportation, to create good paying union jobs while lowering energy and transportation costs for working families.
I also support Medicare for All to eliminate healthcare costs, paid family and medical leave and universal free childcare to ease financial burdens. I will fight for small business tax cuts to support local job creation while taking on corporate price gouging that drives up everyday costs.
We need a new approach that puts the average person first lowering costs, raising wages and ensuring every family has a fair shot at stability and success.
Jacqui Irwin
Occupation: California State assemblymember
City of residence: Thousand Oaks
Age: 64
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from UC San Diego
Military service: none
Elected office: 10 years Thousand Oaks City Council with two terms as mayor; 12 years California State Assembly
Campaign website: JacquiIrwin.com
What’s your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
My top priority as an elected official has always been to solve local problems and deliver for our community. I accomplish this through listening to and working with constituents and community leaders. And while I will continue to make this my top priority, I will also prioritize fighting back against the Trump administration’s continued attack on our democracy and our community.
With the cost of living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
Cost of living has been a significant issue for the past several years. In California, we have worked to ease the burden on families. Whether it is providing universal pre-kindergarten to ease childcare costs, reducing regulatory burdens on housing development or ensuring that polluters pay to reduce our electric bills through the climate credit, I am focused on the issue of reducing the cost of living. In Congress, I will fight to roll back the HR 1 cuts to healthcare that will negatively impact everyday Californians.
Sonia Kacker
Occupation: Physician
City of residence: Thousand Oaks
Age: 55
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s degree with honors from Stanford University; medical degree from UC Irvine
Military service: none
Elected office: none
Criminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: none
Campaign website: drsoniaforcongress.com
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
My top priority is restoring affordability by fixing the underlying drivers of cost across systems – starting with healthcare, which now accounts for nearly one-fifth of our economy. As a physician, I see these failures firsthand: rising costs driven by administrative bloat, lack of transparency, misaligned incentives and too many middle layers that add expense without improving outcomes.
But this isn’t unique to healthcare. It’s the same pattern across systems: overregulation, inefficiency and poor accountability.
I support practical reforms: enforcing price transparency, strengthening oversight of insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers, ensuring savings reach patients, expanding Medicare drug negotiation and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens. My focus is on eliminating waste, improving efficiency and making systems actually work for the people they’re meant to serve.
With the cost of living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
The cost-of-living crisis is being driven by the same underlying problems across multiple systems: excessive bureaucracy, overregulation, mismanagement and too many intermediaries driving up costs.
Healthcare is one example, but we see it in housing, insurance and small business as well. Families are paying more not because value has improved, but because systems have become inefficient and disconnected from the people they serve. Workforce stability is also part of this equation. In a region like ours, especially in agriculture and essential industries, businesses depend on a reliable workforce, and disruptions drive up costs and impact the entire local economy.
My approach is to target those root causes – streamlining regulations where they add unnecessary cost, increasing transparency and holding systems accountable for results. I support expanding housing supply through permitting reform, stabilizing insurance markets in wildfire-prone areas, and reducing barriers for small businesses so they can grow, hire and keep our economy stable.
Michael Koslow
Occupation: Business owner
City of residence: Westlake Village
Age: 65
Party affiliation: Republican
Education: Associate’s degree in avionics technology from Community College of the Air Force, bachelor’s in criminal justice from Chapman University, master’s in public policy from Georgetown University and doctorate in organizational change and leadership from USC
Military service: 9 years active-duty U.S. Air Force; 1 year U.S. Air Force Reserves, 23 years California Air National Guard
Elected office: noneCriminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: none
Campaign website: votemichaelkoslow.org
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
Affordability: I am already working with the future California controller Herb Morgan and the Cal-DOGE staff to assist in identifying fraud and waste in California projects and programs. My three decades of federal and private sector investigative experience in these matters enables me to expeditiously and effectively reduce instances of fraud.
As over $430 billion in estimated fraud in California can be used to identify and use government revenue toward improving K-12 education proficiencies in various subjects, rescinding restrictive laws that limit our local law enforcement to protect the public interest and to provide them with much needed equipment, save the billions of dollars ineffectively used to care for the homeless by formulating programs that address drug abuse rehabilitation processes and revitalizing mental health care facilities. Eliminate unnecessary housing building permits and licensing. Reducing fraud provides more money for taxpayers.
With the cost-of-living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
The current White House administration and cabinet officers have worked diligently over the past 18 months to reduce fraud and waste throughout the nation in federal programs. Significant strides have been made in tax reform, deregulation, energy production, expanded broadband, workforce training, Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness, drug pricing and Medicare reform for low-income seniors and veteran care.
Still, American families are struggling everyday, living paycheck to paycheck experiencing high insurance costs, grocery bills, gas taxes, lack of affordable housing and increased medical costs. Not only will I sit on Congressional subcommittees like housing, community development and insurance, economic growth, tax, energy, agriculture and consumer protection, but more importantly, work with city, county and state leaders to minimize unnecessary cost burdens to the public in astronomical permits, fees, taxes, grower and rancher impediments to include those created by state agencies that exceed federal standards.
Daniel Miller
Occupation: Actor and business owner
City of residence: Quartz Hill, unincorporated community near Lancaster and Palmdale
Age: 56
Party affiliation: Republican
Education: Bachelor’s degree in public policy from Evergreen State College
Military service: none
Elected office: noneCriminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: none
Campaign website: danielmillerforcongress.com
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
My top priorities are affordability, freedom, property rights and water rights, taxpayer protection and parental rights.
With the cost-of-living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
I am also running for office because I am concerned about the affordability crisis, including Californians being over taxed. Californians are being taxed too high. Let’s work on getting gas tax down and property tax down.
Sasan Samadzadeh
Occupation: Construction inspector
City of residence: Camarillo
Age: 32
Party affiliation: Democrat
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from CSU Channel Islands
Military service: none
Elected office: none
Criminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: none
Campaign website: sasansamadzadeh.org/
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
I would focus on confronting Israel over its actions in Gaza and its role in drawing America into another Middle East war. I would use my position in Congress to push for enforcement of the War Powers Act and work toward ending the conflict.
I would also confront the influence of wealthy elites and the Epstein class of powerful individuals who manipulate public servants and corrupt our institutions through money and influence.
Additionally, I support expanding the courts to restore public trust in a judiciary branch many Americans now view as increasingly partisan. I also seek stronger regulations on the rapidly growing AI industry, which could dramatically reshape society if left unchecked. Finally, I support strict regulation, if not a complete ban, on newly created prediction markets, which I believe could create harmful incentives and undermine public trust in institutions.
With the cost-of-living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
My policies would directly address the rising cost of living. The true economic cost of the Iran war has not yet been fully realized, and preventing further escalation could stop a global recession or even a financial crisis.
I would work to hold the “Epstein class” and other powerful elites accountable for the waste, fraud and corruption they impose on the public through their influence over our institutions. I would redirect public funds toward programs that directly benefit Americans, including universal healthcare, free childcare and affordable education.
I would also support major investments in housing construction and push for taxes on vacant or foreign-owned properties to increase housing supply and reduce speculation, rather than continuing to pour unlimited funding into an already bloated Pentagon budget.
William Scott
Occupation: Retired civil servant U.S. Department of War
City of residence: Fillmore
Age: 61
Party affiliation: Republican
Education: Associate’s degree from Ventura College, bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, master’s degree from George Washington University
Military service: none
Elected office: none
Criminal convictions, bankruptcies or pleas: none
Campaign website: WilliamScottforCongress.com
What is your top priority and how do you plan to accomplish it?
My top priorities are addressing the 26th District’s economic decline, its education performance and its lack of high-paying jobs. The district has significantly fallen behind national economic growth trends; greater than 13% compounded gross domestic product decline since 2016 when compared with the United States GDP growth.
Student outcomes are not meeting acceptable standards. Eleventh grade reading and writing proficiency is less than 55% and math is less than 30% proficiency. Many residents are sharing a residence with other family members and cannot afford to live where they work.
With the cost-of-living rising, more residents face difficult decisions about how they spend their money. Explain how you would work to address costs for all.
My approach is grounded in practical, results-driven leadership. I want to rebuild the economy by strengthening the defense industrial base through federal partnerships with Naval Base Ventura County, Edwards Air Force Base and Vandenberg Space Force Base by attracting advanced manufacturing and defense technology jobs and by leveraging federal investments to support regional economic growth. I want to support small businesses by reducing regulatory burdens and streamlining processes for local employers.
I plan to restore academic excellence by encouraging schools to prioritize reading, writing and math proficiency and evidence-based instruction by increasing accountability based on measurable student outcomes, encouraging strong parental involvement, analyzing the root cause of underperforming systems and applying proven best practices from higher-performing states.
I plan to create high-paying jobs by using my federal experience to direct and support investment into industries that provide sustainable, well-paying careers.
Tony Biasotti is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Meet the 9 candidates in 26th Congressional District race
Reporting by Tony Biasotti, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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