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Elections · U.S. House · California

California House race, District 36

Ted Lieu holds this seat and is running to keep it against Houston Brignano.

The November ballot

Lieu
$1.8M
Brignano
$5K

Raised so far, filed with the FEC

General-election ballot as recorded August 27, 2026. Not a prediction.

The seat

Ted Lieu

Democrat · Holds the seat now

Discloses no individual stock trades.

Has not cosponsored a bill that would ban it

From the member's own disclosures and congress.gov. Not cosponsoring is not a vote against a ban.

See their record

How to vote in California

  • General electionNovember 3, 2026In 10 weeks

Register 15 days before, or same-day through Election Day at your county office or polling place.

All dates and rules
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How they won the primary

Nonpartisan primaryTop two advance

The primary · 234,645 votes

  • Ted W. LieuAdvanced60.94%142,982
  • Houston BrignanoAdvanced15.28%35,851
  • Melissa Toomim13.06%30,653
  • Marianne Shamma7.24%17,000
  • Rustin Knudtson1.28%3,001

2 more candidates on the full canvass.

Every candidate runs on one ballot and the top two advance to November, whatever their party. Primary results as recorded August 27, 2026, in the canvass's own published order. Via Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), which cites each state's canvass. A primary result is a filed fact about a past contest, not a prediction of November.

The money on this race

Raised by candidates
$1.9M
Outside money
$106K

Outside money, for and against

Supporting Lieu$106K
Opposing Lieu-
Supporting Brignano-
Opposing Brignano-

Independent expenditures; direction is each filer's own declared filing.

Where each candidate's money comes from

2%$35KSmall donors$67813%
51%$928KLarge donors$4.5K87%
31%$570KPACs--
16%$299KOther--

Small donors give under $200; PACs are political action committees. Shares of each candidate's own receipts on file with the FEC. Outside money is not part of these figures.

Who is spending on this race

The 3 groups spending independently here, ranked; open a row for whose race the money went into.

Independent expenditures reported to the FEC; direction is each group's own declared filing.

Not on the November ballot

5 filed

Primary candidates who did not advance, committees still on file, and candidacies that ended. Being here is a filing fact, not a mark against anyone.

The district

Census context
People
739K
Median household income
$131K
Unemployment
6.6%
Living below the poverty line
8.9%
Without health insurance
3.6%

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Context about the district, not a statement about any candidate.

How this seat voted last time

D+37 in 2024

  • Ted LieuWon68.7%
  • Melissa Toomim31.3%

357,987 votes for candidates. The district's lines have changed since this result. A past result is a filed fact, not a prediction of November.

Certified returns via MIT Election Data and Science Lab, from the House Clerk's election statistics and state canvasses.

More on the California ballot52 House races statewideFind your races by ZIP →

Candidates and financing from the FEC, public domain; money figures carry their own coverage dates. Dataset built 2026-08-27. Nothing here is a forecast, a grade, or a ranking of candidates.