Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat who has represented swaths of Ventura and Los Angeles counties for greater than a decade, introduced Thursday that she wouldn’t search reelection.
“Serving our group and our nation has been the dignity of my lifetime. Each step of this journey has been formed by the folks I characterize, by their resilience, their willpower, and their perception that authorities can and may work for the frequent good,” Brownley mentioned, touting her efforts to develop entry to healthcare, assist veterans, battle local weather change and different coverage priorities, in addition to constituent providers. “We … by no means overpassed the straightforward fact that public service is about exhibiting up for folks once they need assistance essentially the most.”
Brownley, 73, didn’t say why she was selecting to not search reelection, however she joins greater than 40 different members of the U.S. Home of Representatives who’ve introduced they aren’t to operating for his or her seats once more in November. Different Californians not looking for reelection are Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), who’s operating for governor.
Brownley served on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified College District board of training and within the state Meeting earlier than efficiently operating for Congress in 2012. On the time, the district was practically evenly divided between Democratic and Republican voters. However in years since, the district has grown extra liberal.
In 2024, when the twenty sixth Congressional District included Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Westlake Village and a portion of San Buenaventura, the congresswoman gained reelection with 56.6% of the vote over GOP businessman Michael Koslow, who obtained 43.4% of the ballots solid. On the time, the voter registration within the district was 42.5% Democratic, 29.6% Republican and 20.4% unbiased.
The district grew extra Democratic after the passage of Proposition 50, the redrawing of congressional maps California voters accredited in November to counter President Trump’s efforts to spice up the variety of Republicans elected to Congress from GOP-led states. Simi Valley was excised from the district, whereas Hidden Hills, elements of Palmdale, Lancaster and close by high-desert areas had been added to the district.
For Republican candidates had already introduced plans to problem Brownley this yr, together with Koslow, who known as Brownley “out of contact” with the district’s voters.
“The voters of the twenty sixth Congressional District want a consultant who isn’t afraid to vote his conscience in Washington,” Koslow mentioned in an announcement. “They’ll depend on me to convey frequent sense to Washington.”
On Thursday, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) filed paperwork with the Federal Election Fee to run for Brownley’s seat hours after the congresswoman introduced she wouldn’t search reelection.
