Joel Lava
Joel Lava (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 30th Congressional District. Lava declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on June 2, 2026.
Lava completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2026
See also: California's 30th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Nonpartisan primary
Nonpartisan primary election for U.S. House California District 30
The following candidates are running in the primary for U.S. House California District 30 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Laura Friedman (D) | |
| Lester Herman (D) | ||
 | Joel Lava (D)  | |
| Darrell Reeves (D) | ||
| Alan Starzinski (D) | ||
| Cameron Tennyson (D) | ||
 | Dennis Feitosa (R) | |
 | Scott Meyers (R) | |
 | John Armenian (No party preference) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joel Lava completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lava's responses.
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I’ve been organizing in the streets: Protests. Community actions. Spreading the word and turning frustration into collective action. That’s mobilization.
Our country has been turned upside down, and too many leaders have gone missing.
We need Impeachment. Accountability. Consequences.
And a Congress that fights.
Income inequality has soared, while affordable housing has become as unreachable as a livable climate. Our economy and jobs are being steered by 8 tech billionaires with a God Complex!
We live in a country besieged by gun violence, that also fails to provide affordable health care to all its people.
Here’s the truth: We already have workable solutions. What’s missing isn’t policy. It’s courage.
It simply requires leaders willing to stand on principle and not focus groups. TAKE A STAND, AND TAKE THE PUNCHES!
Leaders who harness the power of their constituents and mobilize for change.
I’ve been doing that work on the ground.
Now I’m bringing it to Congress.- Fight like our country depends on it. Impeach Trump. Hold all lawbreakers accountable.
- Gun Violence - there is a way to get at this. 30 years of trying has yielded few results. We must go after and engage the Gun & Ammo manufacturers directly. namethemtoshamethem.com
- Fight to bring filmmaking back to LA. Help the creative working class of our district and LA to navigate the perils of global competition, consolidating markets, and AI.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from the Federal Election Commission. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
