Who's running in California's 5th 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.
The two differ sharply on the role of federal government in the district: McClintock would remove environmental restrictions on forest management and rely on market competition in health care and schools, while Masuda would expand federal investment in wildfire prevention, broadband and rural health.
2 candidates · ballot order · Tom McClintock 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.
Make life more affordable for working people, including by ending tariffs he says raise prices.
Federal investment in wildfire prevention and infrastructure across the district's eight counties.
Expand access to health care and regulate what he calls health care profiteering.
Expand rural broadband.
Lift the Social Security payroll tax cap on high earners rather than cut benefits.
Support LGBTQ+ civil rights protections, including the Equality Act.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Engineer; worked on technologies for military use.
Former U.S. State Department employee; left the department in early 2025.
Has not previously held elected office.
Runs his campaign without corporate PAC money.
Announced a district-wide town hall tour in July 2026 and challenged McClintock to debate at any public forum.
Finished second in the June 2, 2026 primary, ahead of two other Democrats.
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 Masuda by name could be found: not from Tom McClintock or his campaign, not from the National Republican Congressional Committee, and not from Sierra foothill 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.
He has announced a town hall tour of the district and challenged McClintock to debate at any stop on it.
His fundraising totals were not reported in material available.
Reduce federal regulation and government intervention in the economy.
Competitive health care markets rather than expanded federal programs.
School choice.
Remove environmental restrictions on forest management and restore timber sales on federal land.
Raise the Social Security retirement age for younger workers to keep the program solvent.
Oppose what he describes as dividing Americans into identity groups.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative since January 2009; has represented the 5th District since 2023 and the 4th District before that.
Served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before entering Congress.
Signed on to a Texas lawsuit before the Supreme Court in December 2020 that sought to discard the presidential votes cast in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Reported roughly $727,000 in net contributions to the FEC through March 2026.
Did not respond to invitations to a Modesto Focus candidate debate during the primary; later took part in a recorded debate with Masuda on KVML in Sonora.
Led the June 2, 2026 primary field.
Arguments in favor
Nine terms of consistent fiscal conservatism: he has opposed federal spending increases as a matter of principle rather than case by case, and his positions have not moved with the political weather.
— Tom McClintock's office
He shows up for the votes and works the district's local issues — water, forest management and public lands — through his House office.
— Office of Rep. Tom McClintock
Arguments against
He "has voted against virtually every major investment in his own district while working to strip coverage from the constituents who depend on it most": for the One Big Beautiful Bill cutting over $1 trillion from Medicaid, putting 56% of adult Medi-Cal enrollees in the district at risk, and against the infrastructure law that funded $45 million of highway projects and over $100 million of broadband here.
— Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
He voted for the American Health Care Act "even after hundreds of constituents packed a town hall to beg him not to", and in one 2017 meeting called the police to escort him out. His opponent has challenged him to debate at any public forum or to join any stop on a town hall tour; he has not.
— Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Michael Masuda's debate challenge reported by Eastern Sierra Now
What we couldn’t verify
Parts of the DCCC's case date from the 2018 cycle and a previous opponent, though the Medicaid and infrastructure claims are current.
McClintock's response to the debate and town hall challenge 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.
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 Republican incumbent Tom McClintock and Democrat Michael Masuda to the November ballot; two other Democrats, Mike Barkley and Dan Stroud, were eliminated. The district runs from Gold Country down into the San Joaquin Valley and was rated R+8 by Cook heading into 2026. Neither candidate is listed with arguments for or against here: Masuda has published criticism of McClintock by name, but no published criticism of Masuda by name could be found, and showing a case against one candidate and not the other would tilt the page in the other direction. Positions and records are set out below instead. Roster confirmed against the California Secretary of State's certified candidate list and Ballotpedia.
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.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at California Secretary of State.