California Congressional District 22
Job Description
For the 116th time in history, the entire U.S. House of Representatives is hiring for all 435 positions.
Politically ambitious Californians have applied for one of 53 positions in the state’s congressional delegation. Duties include:
- Attend floor sessions and vote on bills
- Occasionally write bills
- Help investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 election
- Help investigate the FBI’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election
- Channel the concerns of the 700,000 or so people who live in their district and convince 434 other colleagues to care about them too
- Spend a lot of time asking donors for money
Applicants
Andrew Janz
Violent Crimes Prosecutor
Devin G. Nunes
U.S. Representative/Farmer
HR Note
Incumbent Party: Republican
Democratic vs Republican Voter Registration: 9.8% R
Trump vs Clinton Margin, 2016: 9.5% Trump
Congressional Margin of Victory in Last Election: 35.2%
Top Two Primary Applicants, June 2018: Devin G. Nunes (57.6%), Andrew Janz (31.7%)
Democratic vs Republican Vote Share, June 2018: 17.4% R
This isn’t just any other seat for the Democrats. Around Visalia and Tulare Congressman Devin Nunes may be known as a fiscal conservative and an opponent of strong environmental regulations, but to the rest of the political world, Nunes is best known as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee where he is one of the president’s most ardent defenders. Remember the memo that came out last February, purporting to show that federal investigators had overstepped in surveilling a Trump campaign advisory with ties to Russia? Nunes wrote that.
Now, the incumbent congressman faces a challenger in Andrew Janz, a criminal prosecutor who secured the state party endorsement earlier this year and who raised over $1 million in the first quarter of 2018. Janz is running on the type of platform you might expect in such a conservative district—protecting, but also “fixing,” the Affordable Care Act, lower taxes for small businesses, immigration reform. But for all the loathing he inspires on the left, Nunes is popular among the Republican base and a fundraiser to contend with.
