California Congressional District 7
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
Ami Bera
Doctor/Teacher/Congressman
Andrew Grant
President/CEO
HR Note
Incumbent Party: Democratic
Democratic vs Republican Voter Registration: 6.2% D
Trump vs Clinton Margin, 2016: 11.5% Clinton
Congressional Margin of Victory in Last Election: 2.4%
Top Two Primary Applicants, June 2018: Ami Bera (51.7%), Andrew Grant (31.2%)
Democratic vs Republican Vote Share, June 2018: 6.6% D
Republicans are largely playing defense this year, but if they have any chance of nabbing a seat in California, the 7th may be their best bet.
In 2016, Bera was re-elected with the smallest margin of victory of any Democrat in the state. That’s in part because a month before the primary, Bera’s father pleaded guilty to illegally funneling money to his son’s campaign (Congressman Bera insists he knew nothing about it).
Andrew Grant was the first Republican to challenge Bera this time around. A Sacramento businessman, Marine Corps veteran, and former intelligence analyst, he is running on his foreign policy chops and relative political moderation.
But the little-known challenger is fighting an uphill battle. A Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll from February found that within the district more likely voters than not approved of Bera’s job performance and that a majority shared his opposition to the federal tax bill, the repeal of Obamacare, and the border wall.
