Incumbent
CA-08 primary: first place
$10.5K
JUN 6, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleU.S. Representative
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
Age81 years old (Jan 24, 1945)
GenderMale
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LocationCalifornia
BackgroundBusinessman
EducationB.A., University of California, Berkeley (1966)
Notable personal detailsJohn Raymond Garamendi is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing California’s 8th Congressional District. He previously served in the California State Assembly and State Senate, was California’s elected Insurance Commissioner (two nonconsecutive tenures), and served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton administration. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of California in 2006 and entered Congress via a 2009 special election. He earned a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Harvard University, and served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the late 1960s.
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Positions
Economy & Taxes
Supports rolling back or opposing large tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy and endorses tax policies aimed at protecting working families and funding public programs. Has criticized the 2017 Republican tax law as primarily benefiting the top 1% and framed Republican tax actions as giving breaks to billionaires while burdening families.
Healthcare
Supports protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act and expanded access to care, has opposed ACA repeal efforts, and has backed federal measures to expand maternal and other public-health programs; has also written in favor of eventual Medicare-for-All as a long-term goal.
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Immigration & Border
Supports protecting asylum access and limiting immigration enforcement expansion while accepting targeted reforms; has opposed increased ICE funding, opposed construction of a border wall, and pushed against military involvement in immigration enforcement. Advocates measures to restrain ICE hiring and to prevent use of military resources for immigration operations.
Abortion & Reproductive Rights
Supports protecting and expanding abortion and reproductive rights at the federal level, including co-sponsoring legislation to restore nationwide access to abortion care. Actively defends reproductive health care and has participated in district events and statements emphasizing reproductive rights.
Climate & Energy
Supports strong federal investments and policy actions to reduce emissions and expand clean energy, including backing the Inflation Reduction Act, infrastructure to expand renewable energy and transmission, and measures to limit offshore drilling while promoting geothermal and offshore wind. Favors clean energy incentives and climate resilience measures but does not have public evidence of endorsing Green New Deal–style wholesale fossil-fuel phaseouts.
Public Safety & Guns
Supports banning assault weapons and tightening background checks and related loopholes; advocates keeping “weapons of war” out of communities and has sponsored/said he helped enact assault-weapon restrictions. Opposes lawmakers carrying guns in the Capitol and supports expanded background-check measures for younger purchasers and closing domestic-violence loopholes.
Fundraising
Latest report: Cycle 20262022
2024
2026
LatestCycle 2022
Cycle 2024
Cycle 2026
Source: FEC
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We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
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