What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
- Health care: he backs a single-payer Medicare for All programme and supports strengthening Medicare and Medicaid and lowering drug costs.
- Infrastructure and transportation investment on the central coast.
- Clean energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicle infrastructure.
- Gun safety, including an assault weapons ban and funding for red flag laws.
- Protections and a citizenship pathway for Dreamers and DACA and TPS recipients.
- Support for veterans.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
- U.S. Representative since January 2017; re-elected in 2024 with 62.7%.
- Santa Barbara County supervisor before entering Congress.
- Served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1984 to 1992.
- Senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which his office says delivered more than $1 billion for central coast projects.
- Helped pass the red flag law provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
- Voted against a congressional stock trading ban on House roll call 280 in July 2026.
- Took 52.5% in the June 2, 2026 primary.
Arguments in favor
He has confronted his own institution's retreat, attacking what he calls the president's "illegal war" and calling out Republican colleagues for the "abdication" of congressional war powers.
— Salud Carbajal, reported by the Santa Barbara Independent and the Santa Barbara News-Press
He led the June 2026 primary with 52.5% against a four-candidate field, having held the seat since 2016.
— Primary results reported by Noozhawk
Arguments against
He claims credit for housing policy that did not pass: a June 25 press release said "Carbajal-backed policies to reduce housing costs" had cleared Congress when the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act had not — "Carbajal's housing spin is why voters are tired of politics."
— Bob Smith, his general election opponent, in the Santa Barbara Independent and the Santa Maria Sun
He will not commit to debating before November: "the same person who participates in protests about defending democracy now suggests he should not have to debate his fact-checked record to voters."
— Bob Smith
What we couldn’t verify
- Carbajal's response to the housing-claim criticism was not established from the sources found beyond his objection to being criticised.
- Whether he has since agreed to a debate was not established from the sources found.
- The district's boundaries changed under Proposition 50, approved in November 2025; how that changes his position was not established from the sources found.