Battleground Friday: California's 7th 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 7th Congressional District's 2014 election.
Current incumbent: Ami Bera (D) was first elected to the 7th District in 2012. In 2012, he defeated incumbent Dan Lungren (R) in a race that was too close to call until a week after the election.[3]
Bera is a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline Program. The program is designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents heading into the 2014 election.[4]
2012 MOV: Bera won the seat in 2012 with a margin of victory of 3.4% over incumbent Dan Lungren (R). The two candidates were separated by 9,191 votes.
2014 candidates: There are currently three Republican candidates challenging Bera for the seat, Igor Birman, Elizabeth Emken and Doug Ose. Birman is a former Chief of Staff of Rep. Tom McClintock.[5] Emken unsuccessfully challenged Dianne Feinstein in the 2012 election to the U.S. Senate.[6] Ose is a local business owner and former member of Congress. He was elected in 1998 and served for three terms.[7] All three Republican challengers were listed as "on the radar" by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the first step of their "Young Guns" program.[8]
What made it a Ballotpedia battleground district?: Our analysis points to the district being a battleground with a slight Democratic lean. Cook's PVI shows the district as even, while Fairvote shows the district slightly favoring the Democratic Party. The MOV in 2012 was under 5% and the district was won by President Barack Obama by 5% or less in both 2008 and 2012. Additionally, incumbent Ami Bera is a freshman representative.
FEC: Year-End reports from the Federal Election Commission show incumbent Ami Bera with a significant fundraising advantage over his GOP challengers. He raised a total of $1,378,332 in 2013 and is sitting on $1,151,637 cash on hand. Ose ended the year with contributions totaling $628,451 and $277,166 cash on hand.[9] Emken raised $450,998 in 2013 and had $305,826 left on hand.[10] Birman had the lowest fundraising of the group with a total of $247,572 and only $124,273 cash remaining.[11]
- The information above was compiled following the California candidate filing deadline. Please find all further updates on the 7th District's election page.
| California's 7th Congressional District | |
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Population: 710,607 | |
See also
- U.S. House battleground districts, 2014
- California's 7th Congressional District
- California's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014
- Ami Bera
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
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Unofficial election results," November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "DCCC Chairman Steve Israel Announces 2013-2014 Frontline Members," accessed March 5, 2013
- ↑ Igor Birman for Congress, "About," accessed March 28, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Unofficial election results," November 6, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Doug Ose for Congress, "Bio," accessed March 28, 2014
- ↑ Roll Call, "House Republicans Put 36 Recruits ‘On the Radar’" accessed November 21, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Doug Ose Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Elizabeth Emken Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Igor Birman Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
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