Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.

Whitney Shanahan

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Whitney Shanahan
Image of Whitney Shanahan

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House California District 48

Elections and appointments
Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Bowling Green, 2009

Personal
Profession
Consultant
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Campaign TikTok

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Whitney Shanahan (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 48th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]

Biography

Whitney Shanahan earned a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University in 2009. Her career experience includes working as a consultant and content creator. Shanahan founded the group Pro Choice with Heart.[1]As of 2024, Shanahan was affiliated with Delta Gamma Sorority.[2]

Elections

2026

See also: California's 48th Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House California District 48

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House California District 48 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Darrell Issa
Darrell Issa (R)
Image of Ammar Campa-Najjar
Ammar Campa-Najjar (D)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Nicholas Davis (D)
Image of Anuj Dixit
Anuj Dixit (D)
Image of Curtis Morrison
Curtis Morrison (D) Candidate Connection
Image of Brian Nash
Brian Nash (D)
Image of Whitney Shanahan
Whitney Shanahan (D)
Image of Suzanne Till
Suzanne Till (D)
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Marni von Wilpert (D)
Image of Albert James Mora
Albert James Mora (No party preference) Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: California's 48th Congressional District election, 2024

California's 48th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House California District 48

Incumbent Darrell Issa defeated Stephen Houlahan in the general election for U.S. House California District 48 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Darrell Issa
Darrell Issa (R)
 
59.3
 
213,625
Image of Stephen Houlahan
Stephen Houlahan (D)
 
40.7
 
146,665

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 360,290
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 48

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 48 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Darrell Issa
Darrell Issa (R)
 
62.4
 
111,510
✔
Image of Stephen Houlahan
Stephen Houlahan (D)
 
14.9
 
26,601
Image of Whitney Shanahan
Whitney Shanahan (D) Candidate Connection
 
12.2
 
21,819
Image of Mike Simon
Mike Simon (D) Candidate Connection
 
7.2
 
12,950
Image of Matthew Rascon
Matthew Rascon (D)
 
2.2
 
3,988
Image of Lucinda Jahn
Lucinda Jahn (No party preference)
 
1.1
 
1,959

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 178,827
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Shanahan in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Whitney Shanahan has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Whitney Shanahan asking her to fill out the survey. If you are Whitney Shanahan, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

You can ask Whitney Shanahan to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing info@whitneyshanahan.com.

Email

2024

Candidate Connection

Whitney Shanahan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shanahan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Whitney Shanahan lives in Fallbrook. She's a mother, proud bisexual and Reproductive Rights advocate. As your Congresswoman she'll work to make sure our rights and freedoms are protected and that families can safely and affordably thrive. She explains her drive to run, "In 2019 I was pregnant and in a red. I went to the ER with pregnancy complications and was questioned about what I had done to cause my possible miscarriage. Because in the state I was in the Republican legislature was working on passing a 6 week abortion ban - before most women even know they are pregnant and effectively criminalizing not just abortion but miscarriage too. My life changed in that moment and I became a pro choice advocate. I have spent the last 5 years holding hundreds of Pro-Choice rallies across the country to DEFEND ROE, collected over 270,000 signatures to go to DC and defend abortion rights and amassed a social media following of over half a million. And now that Roe v Wade has fallen this can't wait, we need Nationwide, Federal Protections to Abortion, Bodily Autonomy and Lgbtq rights." Shanahan is the only Democrat in the Primary election that has a path to victory against Conservative Incumbent Rep. Issa, because she has the power of the pro choice movement behind her!
  • Whitney Shanahan will reinstate the protections of Roe v Wade to ensure nationwide protection to reproductive rights in all 50 states.
  • Whitney Shanahan lost her brother to gun violence as a child and now that she is a mother will work to keep our families and kids safe in congress with common sense prevention.
  • As your Congresswoman Shanahan understands how hard it is to make ends meet, between grocery bills, housing costs and childcare it's untenable for many families. As a millennial she has worked multiple jobs most of her life. She will work to to make life more affordable for the families in her district.
Whitney Shanahan is passionate about Reproductive Rights, Gun Violence Prevention and making life affordable for families.
Those who lead with compassion and speak truth to power.
The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates & A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield
As your Congresswoman, Shanahan will bring empathy, transparency and her fiery heart of a mother to Congress.
The fierce desire for justice, freedom and equality.
The core responsibilities for someone elected to Congress is to represent the people.
I would love to leave the legacy of reinstating the protections of Roe v Wade nationwide.
The Columbine school shooting, I was 13.
My first job was at Delia's clothing company.
A Path with Heart by Jack Cornfield, it was introduced to me by my mentor and friend Mavin Belzer, Ph.D -who teaches at the UCLA mindfulness awareness research center.
The Last Unicorn
Karma by Taylor Swift
I've struggled with dyslexia.
The power to initiative revenue bills, impeach federal officials and elect a president in the case of a tie.
I think it is beneficial for representatives to have close ties to the community they serve and a vested interest in the future of this country.
Ensuring human rights over corporate interests, Ending gun violence and combating an environmental crisis, so that future generations have clean air and water.
yes
Shanahan supports term limits!
No, I'm going to focus on being myself.
I have spoken with many constituents who protested and rallied for women's rights in the 1970's and they all are shocked and saddened that we still in 2024 are fighting for those rights and now even slipping backwards since the fall of Roe v Wade.
What kind of candy do astronauts like? Mars Bars
Compromise is necessary when policy making, however I will not compromise on women's right to bodily autonomy.
Pass the Women's Healthcare Protection Act
Investigate the link of maternal mortality and states with abortion bans.
Pro Choice with Heart
Transportation and Infrastructure
The government should be transparent and accountable to the people, ensuring the most vulnerable are taken care of - especially children.

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

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Whitney Shanahan campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2026* U.S. House California District 48Candidacy Declared general$2,850 $2,846
2024* U.S. House California District 48Lost primary$24,248 $24,052
Grand total$27,098 $26,898
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2026 Elections

Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
What's on the ballot?
U.S. Congress
U.S. Congress special elections
State executives
State legislatures
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards
Election analysis hub

Government

Seal of California.png
Who represents me?
U.S. Congress
State executives
State legislators
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards

Newsletters

Ballotpedia RSS.jpg
The Daily Brew
The Weekly Brew
The Ballot Bulletin
Checks and Balances
Economy and Society
Hall Pass
Number of the Day
Robe & Gavel
Union Station


External links

Candidate

U.S. House California District 48
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
    		•

    Personal

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Whitney Shanahan for Congress, "About," accessed January 28, 2024
    2. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 5, 2024


    California's current delegation to the United States Congress
    Senators
    Alex Padilla (D)
    Adam Schiff (D)
    Representatives
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    Ami Bera (D)
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    District 10
    District 11
    District 12
    District 13
    Adam Gray (D)
    District 14
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    Ro Khanna (D)
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    Jim Costa (D)
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    Raul Ruiz (D)
    District 26
    District 27
    District 28
    Judy Chu (D)
    District 29
    Luz Rivas (D)
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    District 36
    Ted Lieu (D)
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    Young Kim (R)
    District 41
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    District 46
    District 47
    Dave Min (D)
    District 48
    District 49
    District 50
    District 51
    District 52
    Democratic Party (45)
    Republican Party (9)


    Flag of California
    v • e
    State of California
    Sacramento (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Whitney_Shanahan&oldid=10352072"