Battleground Friday: California's 21st Congressional District
By the Congress team
In the next profile of our 2014 battleground districts, Ballotpedia is taking an in-depth look at California's 21st Congressional District's 2014 election.
Current incumbent: David Valadao (R) was first elected to the House in 2012. He previously served one term in the California State Assembly from 2010 to 2012.[3]
Valadao is a member of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program. The program is designed to assist vulnerable Republican incumbents heading into the 2014 election.[4]
2012 MOV: Valadao won the seat in 2012 with a margin of victory of 15.6% over John Hernandez (D). The two candidates were separated by 18,045 votes.
2014 candidates: There are two Democratic candidates challenging Valadao for the seat, John Hernandez and Amanda Renteria. Hernandez was defeated by Valadao in the 2012 race for the seat. Renteria served on the staff of Senator Dianne Feinstein and as chief of staff for Senator Debbie Stabenow.[5] Renteria was included in The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Jumpstart" program. The program provides financial support to promising candidates.[6]
What made it a Ballotpedia battleground district?: Our analysis points to the district being a battleground with a current Republican incumbent that leans Democratic. Cook's PVI shows the district as D+2, while Fairvote rates the district as 50.9% Democratic. The district was won by President Barack Obama by 11.1% in 2012 and 6% in 2008. Additionally, incumbent David Valadao is a freshman representative.
FEC: Year-End reports from the Federal Election Commission show incumbent David Valadao with a significant fundraising advantage over his Democratic challengers. He raised a total of $941,577 in 2013 and is sitting on $676,734 cash on hand.[7] Renteria ended the year with contributions totaling $337,992 and $256,737 cash on hand.[8] Campaign donor information is not available for Hernandez.
- The information above was compiled following the California candidate filing deadline. Please find all further updates on the 21st District's election page.
| California's 21st Congressional District | |
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Population: 714,164 | |
See also
- U.S. House battleground districts, 2014
- California's 21st Congressional District
- California's 21st Congressional District elections, 2014
- David Valadao
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "David G. Valadao," accessed June 13, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "11 House Republicans named to incumbent-protection program," April 22, 2013
- ↑ Amanda Renteria campaign website, "Meet Amanda," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Roll Call, "House Democrats Promote 3 Recruits," accessed October 24, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "David Valadao Year-End," accessed February 4, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Amanda Renteria Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
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