Ventura County politics just got a lot more interesting. With Rep. Julia Brownley bowing out, the race for California’s 26th Congressional District has turned into a packed, high-stakes primary where local concerns like wildfires, coastal erosion and flooding are muscling in alongside national fights over immigration and federal spending. From Oxnard across the Oxnard Plain to Thousand Oaks, voters now have a short runway before the June 2 primary to sort through a slate that ranges from a sitting state lawmaker to progressive climate advocates and Republican military and business figures.
Why the seat matters
Congresswoman Julia Brownley announced on Jan. 8, 2026 that she would not seek re-election, thanking constituents in a statement released by Brownley’s office. The 26th District stretches from the Pacific shoreline into the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains and includes Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, a political core for Ventura County, according to the Los Angeles Times. The open seat is rated a solidly Democratic district, which makes the primary the real contest for control of the seat this fall, per the Cook Political Report.
Who’s running
The June 2 primary ballot features Democrats Jacqui Irwin, Chris Espinosa, Sonia Kacker and several other contenders, along with Republicans Sam (Samuel) Gallucci, Michael Koslow and a cluster of additional challengers. They appear on the California Secretary of State’s certified candidate list, as documented by the California Secretary of State. Among the field, Jacqui Irwin is the only current officeholder, and her Assembly biography highlights a decade of local service in Thousand Oaks and committee roles in Sacramento, according to the California State Assembly.
Democratic field and endorsements
Irwin is pitching herself as the experienced, constituent-focused candidate, leaning on her years in city and state office. To her left, climate-first Democrats are working to tug the race toward more aggressive coastal and wildfire policy. Chris Espinosa has secured endorsements from national environmental organizations, a clear signal to progressive and climate-focused voters, according to Friends of the Earth Action. Dr. Sonia Kacker, who runs Westlake Village Urgent Care, is centering health care, her clinical background and on-the-ground experience with local patients in a district that values both coastal and suburban services, according to Westlake Village Urgent Care.
Republican flank and immigration rhetoric
Republicans are trying to crack a tough district with two sharply defined profiles. Michael Koslow is running as a retired Air Force veteran and former federal agent, arguing that military service and investigative work translate into national security know-how that the district needs, per the Michael Koslow campaign. Samuel Gallucci, a pastor and nonprofit leader, has leaned into hard-edged immigration messaging, at times calling for large-scale deportations while also saying that long-standing undocumented residents who have worked in local communities should be allowed to remain, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Local problems are the real currency
For all the talk about national issues, the real dividing lines in this race sit closer to home. Candidates are offering competing plans to confront wildfire danger in inland canyons along with sea-level rise, coastal erosion and flooding that threaten the Oxnard Plain and nearby barrier beaches. County vulnerability assessments and adaptation studies spell out the risks facing beaches, infrastructure and low-lying neighborhoods and explain why federal resilience dollars and climate adaptation grants keep surfacing on the trail, according to the Ventura County Resource Management Agency. Local organizations and fire-safe councils have also elevated hazard mitigation and fuel reduction projects as top-of-mind concerns for residents, per the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council.
What to watch before June 2
As June 2 approaches, endorsements, money and organization will likely separate the serious contenders from the rest. Voters can track who is consolidating institutional backing, whose message is breaking beyond their home base and who is attracting donors across the district. The certified list and filings on the Secretary of State’s site will signal which campaigns are still viable as ballots go out, and national handicappers at the Cook Political Report continue to rate the district as strongly Democratic, which gives heavy weight to the outcome of the Democratic primary. In these final weeks, expect climate resilience plans, disaster aid priorities and immigration rhetoric to dominate the closing arguments.
The next representative for CA-26 will be chosen in stages, first in a crowded primary, then in a general election, and whoever wins will inherit a district defined as much by beaches and hills as by partisan labels. With the clock ticking, the candidates now have only a brief window to convince Ventura County voters that their mix of experience and proposals can best protect the coastline, neighborhoods and livelihoods that hang in the balance.
