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Tracy Van Houten

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Tracy Van Houten
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Tracy Van Houten was a special election candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 34th Congressional District of California.[1]

Elections

2017

See also: California's 34th Congressional District special election, 2017
U.S. House, California District 34, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJimmy Gomez 59.2% 25,569
     Democratic Robert Lee Ahn 40.8% 17,610
Total Votes 43,179
Source: California Secretary of State

The election replaced Xavier Becerra (D), who was appointed as California's attorney general.[2] Democrats Jimmy Gomez and Robert Lee Ahn were the top two vote-getters in a primary field of 23 candidates and advanced to the general election. Gomez and Ahn competed in the runoff election on June 6, 2017, when Gomez defeated Ahn by more than 20 percent, 60.1 percent to 30.9 percent.[3] The previous two elections in the district have also featured a general election contest between two Democrats.[4][5][6]

Ahn and Gomez participated in a candidate forum on May 25, 2017, where they discussed the Trump administration, infrastructure, job creation, healthcare, and local issues. During the forum, Ahn emphasized his legal and business background and knowledge of Korean relations, while Gomez highlighted his legislative experience in the California State Assembly and endorsements from progressive organizations like the Bernie Sanders-backed Our Revolution. For an overview of the forum and the candidates' responses, click here.

In the fundraising race, Ahn outpaced Gomez, raising $353,000 between April 1 and May 17. His campaign capital was boosted by an additional $195,000 personal loan. In the same time period, Gomez raised $327,000.[7]

U.S. House, California District 34 Primary, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJimmy Gomez 25.4% 10,728
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRobert Lee Ahn 22.3% 9,415
     Democratic Maria Cabildo 10.1% 4,259
     Democratic Sara Hernandez 5.6% 2,358
     Democratic Arturo Carmona 5.2% 2,205
     Democratic Wendy Carrillo 5.2% 2,195
     Green Kenneth Mejia 4.6% 1,964
     Republican William Morrison 3.2% 1,360
     Democratic Yolie Flores 3.2% 1,368
     Democratic Alejandra Campoverdi 2.4% 1,001
     Democratic Tracy Van Houten 2.5% 1,042
     Democratic Vanessa Aramayo 2% 853
     Democratic Sandra Mendoza 1.6% 674
     Democratic Steven Mac 1.6% 663
     Democratic Raymond Meza 1.2% 509
     Independent Mark Edward Padilla 1% 427
     Libertarian Angela McArdle 0.8% 319
     Democratic Ricardo De La Fuente 0.8% 331
     Democratic Adrienne Nicole Edwards 0.4% 182
     Democratic Richard Joseph Sullivan 0.4% 155
     Democratic Armando Sotomayor 0.3% 118
     Democratic Tenaya Wallace 0.2% 103
     Democratic Melissa "Sharkie" Garza 0.2% 79
Total Votes 42,308
Source: California Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2017

The following issues were listed on Van Houten's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

  • Immigration: The engine of American progress is fueled by immigrants. While national security is a top priority, Trump’s immigration policies are not based on facts. The immigration raids we are seeing across the country, as well as his travel ban, are nothing more than fear-mongering and scapegoating of our immigrant communities in lieu of solving the real issues facing our country. As a rocket scientist, I operate in truth and facts.
  • Environment: My deep roots in science and technology make me uniquely qualified to meet the challenges our state, nation, and world face in battling climate change. Expanding new and innovative water storage and sanitation solutions, and modernizing our infrastructure to protect our environment and natural resources are necessary tenants as our city grows.
  • Healthcare: Under the Obama Administration, we reached a historically low rate of uninsured Americans and have heard countless stories from people who would not be alive today without the Affordable Care Act. I will hold the line. We cannot go back to a system that prevents individuals with pre-existing conditions from accessing life-saving healthcare coverage.
  • Homelessness: We need to collaborate with local organizations that have the experience in working with people experiencing homelessness. The top-down approach to addressing our homelessness issues is failing and cannot be addressed as a single issue. We need to ensure that these most vulnerable residents have clear access to education and the tools and resources to find paths to success. Homelessness stretches across the socio-economic foundation of our communities, and we must look at the larger landscape of our economy to appropriately address this issue, including affordable housing, employment, and transportation solutions. As we clearly need more housing, I support the smart growth of denser development. We simply cannot appropriately address this important issue with a singular approach.
  • Law Enforcement & Racial Profiling: Every American deserves basic and equal human rights. It is shameful that black youth, the Latinx community, and other minorities are incarcerated at rates far exceeding whites. The problems we are seeing are the result of complex and deep-rooted systems of oppression, and I understand that there is no such thing as a simple fix for our criminal justice system. If elected, I will support federal policies that decrease incarceration rates by reclassifying non-violent, non-serious felonies as misdemeanors. Non-violent criminal offenses should be treated through rehabilitation, reentry and probationary programs.

[8]

Tracy Van Houten's campaign website

Campaign finance summary

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Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Tracy Van Houten' California Congress. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

External links

Footnotes


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