The current representative for California’s 26th Congressional District, Julia Brownley, D-Ventura, will not be seeking reelection, according to a news release from the congresswoman’s office.
The move injects some uncertainty into this year’s local congressional races: After Proposition 50 was passed by California voters by more than 60%, the Santa Clarita Valley is primed to be split into three congressional districts, giving the SCV two more House representatives, which would have included Brownley had she sought and won reelection.
Rep. George Whitesides’ 27th Congressional District currently covers all of the SCV.
Brownley, according to the new congressional map approved via Prop. 50, would have represented some western pockets of the SCV, including Castaic and Val Verde, along with Conejo Valley communities currently in the 26th District.
Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, who represents California’s 30th District, is expected to take on eastern portions of the 27th District that include Acton and Agua Dulce.
Three other candidates have filed statements of candidacy for the 26th District seat, according to the Federal Election Commission, including Jacqui Irwin, a California Assemblywoman representing the 42nd Assembly District.
According to Irwin’s House campaign website, Brownley has endorsed her for the seat, calling her the “best-qualified and prepared candidate.”
“Jacqui’s record of standing up for all of us and building coalitions to get things done gives her the experience and tools needed to represent us but also stand up to the Trump administration’s attack on our values and our democracy,” the Brownley endorsement reads. “I enthusiastically endorse her for Congress.”
In the news release, Brownley said that serving in the House had been “the honor of a lifetime,” and that despite the political turmoil of the current moment, she remains optimistic.
“Despite the immense challenges we are currently facing, I remain deeply optimistic about the future of our country. The American experiment has endured not because it is perfect, but because generations of Americans continue to believe in it and work to make it more just, more equal, and more reflective of those it serves,” Brownley said in the release. “I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to have played a part in that work, and I know we will learn from this moment in time how to shore up our democracy to make it even stronger for the generations that will follow.”
The new congressional map was challenged in court by the Trump administration, and on Wednesday, a panel of three federal judges in the Central District of California issued a preliminary order denying the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction on the map in a 2-1 vote.
Barring further complications in court, the map would go into effect with this year’s midterms.
