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Ballot Explained

U.S. House · November 3, 2026

Who's running in California's 36th congressional district

2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.

Candidates
2
Incumbent
Ted Lieu
Parties
Republican · Democratic
State primary
Jun 2

Candidates appear in ballot order. We do not rank them, score them, or recommend one — here is how this is put together, and here is what the office actually does.

2 candidates · ballot order · Ted Lieu currently holds this seat

Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Nothing documented in the sources reviewed.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • U.S. Marine Corps veteran; served two tours in Iraq.
  • Fifteen years working at venues and arenas, including on the downtown Los Angeles development that became LA Live.
  • Serves on the boards of a Redondo Beach homeschool co-operative and a church in Old Torrance.
  • Has not held elected office.
  • Took 15.3% in the June 2, 2026 primary, finishing second.

Arguments in favor

We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.

Arguments against

We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.

What we couldn’t verify

  • No published criticism of Brignano by name could be found: not from Ted Lieu or his campaign, not from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and not from Los Angeles news coverage. Because no case against him exists on the record, none is presented for him either, rather than showing his own campaign's case unanswered.
  • His positions and record were not stated in material available.
  • His fundraising totals were not reported in material available.
Their campaign site ↗Sources:voteforhouston.comwtop.comdailybruin.comfec.gov

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Affordability.
  • Environmental protection.
  • Women's bodily autonomy.
  • Protecting voting rights.
  • Artificial intelligence regulation.
  • Veterans' affairs.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • U.S. Representative for the Westside since January 2015; re-elected in 2024 with 68.7%.
  • Vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
  • Member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
  • Took 61.1% in the June 2, 2026 primary.
  • His campaign says his main focus this cycle is Democrats regaining the House majority.

Arguments in favor

  • He is Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the highest-ranking Asian American ever to serve in the House, and one of his party's most visible voices on election administration and civil rights.

    — Office of Rep. Ted Lieu

  • He turns up for the votes and legislates on civil rights and technology policy from a senior leadership position.

    — GovTrack voting record and Office of Rep. Ted Lieu

Arguments against

  • He voted for the April 2024 package sending another $26 billion in military aid to Israel, and is named among what the group calls the "Who's Who in the Complicit Democratic Party".

    — CODEPINK

What we couldn’t verify

  • Lieu's response to that criticism was not established from the sources found.
  • No criticism of him by name from Houston Brignano's campaign or from the National Republican Congressional Committee was 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.
Sources:dailybruin.comdailybruin.comgovtrack.uslieu.house.govlieu.house.govcodepink.org

Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.

California's June 2, 2026 top-two primary sent Democratic incumbent Ted Lieu, with 61.1%, and Republican Houston Brignano, with 15.3%, to the November ballot. The district covers the Westside of Los Angeles including UCLA and the South Bay. Neither candidate is listed with arguments for or against here: the published criticism of Lieu came from fellow Democrats eliminated in the primary rather than from his general election opponent, and no published criticism of Brignano by name could be found. Setting out a case against one candidate and not the other would tilt the page.

This is one contest on a longer ballot

A California ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.

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