Juan Vargas

Juan Vargas
U.S. House, California, District 51
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2013-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position	0
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Bob Filner (D)
Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 4, 2014
Campaign $	$1,061,806
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
California State Assembly
2001-2006
California State Senate District 40
December 6, 2010-January 2, 2013
Education
Bachelor's	University of San Diego, 1983
Master's	Fordham University
J.D.	Harvard Law School
Personal
Birthday	March 7, 1961
Place of birth	National City, CA
Profession	Attorney
Net worth	$1,553,505
Religion	Catholic
Websites
Office website

Juan Vargas (b. March 7, 1961) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House representing the 51st Congressional District of California. He was first elected in 2012, when he defeated Michael Crimmins (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Vargas is a former Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing District 40 from 2010 until his resignation on January 2, 2013. Prior to his election to the California State Senate, Vargas served in the California State Assembly from 2001 to 2006. He was also a member of the San Diego City Council.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Vargas is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Vargas earned his BA in Political Science from the University of San Diego in 1983. He went on to receive his MA in Humanities from Fordham University. He then earned his JD from Harvard Law School.

Vargas works for Luce, Forward, Hamilton and Scripps as an Associate Attorney.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Vargas's academic, professional and political career:

• 1983: Graduated from University of San Diego with B.A.
• 1987: Graduated from Fordham University with M.A.
• 1991: Graduated from Harvard University with J.D.
• 1993-2000: Member of the San Diego City Council
• 2000-2006: California State Assembly
• 2010-2012: California State Senate
• 2013-Present: U.S Representative from California

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Vargas serves on the following committees:

• Agriculture Committee
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and risk Management
  • Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology and Foreign Agriculture
• Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade
• House Administration Committee

California State Senate

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Vargas served on these committees:

• Agriculture
• Banking and Financial Institutions, Chair
• Business, Professions and Economic Development
• Education

• Subcommittee on Sustainable School Facilities

• Public Employment and Retirement Committee, California Senate
• Rules Committee, California Legislature

Elections

2012

See also: California's 51st congressional district elections, 2012

Vargas won the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 51st District. He and Michael Crimmins (R) advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating Denise Moreno Ducheny (D), Daniel Ramirez (D), John Brooks (D), Xanthi Gionis (R), and Bernard Portley (R). Vargas went on to defeat Crimmins in the November 6, 2012, general election.

Vargas's campaign spent between $40,000 and $50,000 to promote his Republican primary and preferred general election opponent Michael Crimmins in the primary election. The goal of this venture was to help a Republican advance to the general election so that Vargas could easily win in the general election, since the 51st District is heavily Democratic.

U.S. House, California, District 51 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Juan Vargas	71.5%	113,934
	Republican	Michael Crimmins	28.5%	45,464
Total Votes				159,398
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

U.S. House, California District 51 Open Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Juan Vargas (D)	46%	30,143
Michael Crimmins (R)	19.9%	13,016
Denise Moreno Ducheny (D)	15.4%	10,107
Xanthi Gionis (R)	6.8%	4,487
John Brooks (D)	5%	3,290
Daniel C. Ramirez (D)	4.3%	2,794
Bernard Portley (R)	2.5%	1,667
Total Votes		65,504

2010

See also: California State Senate elections, 2010

Vargas advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating Mary Salas in the June 8 primary election. He then advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating Republican Brian Hendry in the November 2 general election.

California State Senate, District 40 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Juan Vargas (D)		101,767
Brian Hendry (R)		69,417

California State Senate, District 40 Democratic Primary (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Juan Vargas (D)		24,282
Mary Salas (D)		24,260

Campaign themes

Vargas' website listed the following issues:

• Good paying jobs for trained workers
• Solar and green power economic growth
• Educational opportunity for all children
• In-home supportive healthcare services for the aged and infirmed
• Fixing the budget mess created by the politicians currently in Sacramento

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Vargas is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Vargas raised a total of $1,061,806 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 22, 2013.

Juan Vargas's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	US House (California, District 51)		$1,061,806
Grand Total Raised			$1,061,806

2012

Breakdown of the source of Vargas's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Vargas won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Vargas's campaign committee raised a total of $1,061,806 and spent $1,010,618.

U.S. House, California District 51, 2012 - Juan Vargas Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$1,061,806
Total Spent	$1,010,618
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$25,374
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$29,820
Top contributors to Juan Vargas's campaign committee
Blue Cross/Blue Shield	$16,500
Chandi Group	$15,000
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons	$12,500
Liberty Mutual	$10,750
New Democrat Coalition	$10,400
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Insurance	$116,250
Health Professionals	$61,550
Public Sector Unions	$54,000
Real Estate	$51,250
Building Trade Unions	$42,000

2010

In 2010, Vargas raised $942,563 in contributions.

His four largest contributors were:

Donor	Amount
Vargas, Juan	$65,000
Afscme California	$15,600
California Association Of Realtors	$15,600
California Dental Association	$15,600

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Vargas is a "moderate Democratic follower" as of June 4, 2013.

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Vargas missed 2 of 89 roll call votes from January 2013 to March 2013. This amounts to 2.2%, which is equal to the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Vargas's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $977,011 and $2,130,000. That averages to $1,553,505, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874.

Voting with party

2013

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Vargas has voted with the Democratic Party 96.2% of the time. This ranked 64th among the 201 House Democrats as of June 2013.

Personal

Vargas and his wife, Adrienne, have two children.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Juan + Vargas + California + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Juan Vargas News Feed

• Gorell feels positive after meeting with GOP leaders on immigration reform - Ventura County Star
• Congress Not Won Over By Rouhani Victory in Iran - Al-Monitor
• Congressman Juan Vargas Goes ?Undercover? as La Bella Pizza Garden ... - Imperial Valley News
• Some unsolicited advice for Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones - Capitol Weekly
• Southern California's Mobility 21 Awards Champions of Transportation - Business Wire (press release)
• Coloradans Hold Breath Watching Washington Wrangle Over Farm Bill - Huffington Post
• California Native American Heritage Commission Declares Ocotillo Wind Project ... - The Herald
• Congressman Vargas Cosponsors More Than 20 Resolutions In Support of ... - Imperial Valley News
• If this commercial doesn't work on you, nothing will [VIDEO - Daily Caller]
• School trustee Barrera takes helm of labor group - U-T San Diego

External links

Suggest a link

• Juan Vargas's campaign website
• Official U.S. House website
• Profile at Facebook
• Profile at Twitter
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile and news at Roll Call
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress.org
• Congressional profile at CongressMerge.com
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Legislation at Congress.gov
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign contributions at Follow The Money
• Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
• Profile at Wikipedia

References

Political offices
Preceded by Bob Filner	U.S. House, California, District 51 January 3, 2013-Present	Succeeded by '
Preceded by Denise Moreno Ducheny	California State Senate District 40 2010–January 2, 2013	Succeeded by Ben Hueso (D)