Jimmy PanettaIncumbent
Candidate for U.S. Representative, Congressional District 19
Jimmy Panetta is a Democrat in the U.S. House. He is the incumbent. He was first elected in 2016. He then represented California's 20th Congressional District. After redistricting, he now represents the renumbered 19th District. It covers the Central Coast. He seeks re-election in November 2026. That would be his sixth term. He grew up on California's central coast. He is the son of Leon Panetta, the former Defense Secretary and CIA Director. His grandparents were Italian immigrants. He attended local public schools. He attended Monterey Peninsula College. He earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from UC Davis. He holds a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. He served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He volunteered for active duty. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He received the Bronze Star for that service. Before Congress, he worked as a prosecutor. He was a deputy district attorney in Monterey and Alameda Counties. He served on the board of the Veterans Transition Center. He advocated for establishing Monterey County's first Veterans Treatment Court. In Congress, he sits on the House Ways and Means Committee. He also sits on the Budget Committee. He serves as a Chief Deputy Whip in the 119th Congress. His wife, Carrie Panetta, serves as a Superior Court judge in Monterey County. Home: California's Central Coast, in the Monterey County area (CA-19). Occupation: U.S. Representative for California's 19th District. Prior office: incumbent since 2017. He was first elected to the House in 2016, for then-CA-20. He now represents the renumbered CA-19.
On the issues
- Economy & Jobs
Panetta supports a 'worker-centric' growing economy, cites clean-energy job creation, and has worked to increase tariff oversight by requiring congressional approval for major new tariffs.
Source → - Taxes & Cost of Living
Panetta supports tax relief for small businesses (e.g., R&D expensing) and describes working across the aisle to reduce cost of living, while opposing tariffs as a hidden tax on Americans.
Source → - Health & Health Care
Panetta supports the Affordable Care Act and extending its tax credits, and supports lowering drug prices, citing the Inflation Reduction Act's $35 Medicare insulin cap.
Source → - Immigration & Border
Panetta supports a combination of increased border security and comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, protection of DACA, and support for TPS holders and farmworkers.
Source → - Reproductive & Social Issues
Panetta supports abortion rights and reproductive health access, LGBTQ rights including marriage equality and the Equality Act, and civil rights protections.
Source → - Education & Schools
Panetta has authored legislation to expand student loan forgiveness and Pell Grants, worked to expand Head Start and pre-K funding, and supports tax benefits for early childhood educators.
Source → - Criminal Justice & Courts
Panetta has supported federal criminal justice/policing reform legislation in response to police violence, though no specific position was found on federal sentencing, bail, or drug enforcement policy.
Source → - Environment, Energy & Climate
Panetta describes climate change as urgent, has introduced a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas leasing on the Central Coast, opposed expanded federal offshore drilling, and supported the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy investments.
Source → - Foreign Policy & Defense
Panetta supports maintaining local military installations and jobs, backs continued U.S. commitment to NATO and international alliances, supports congressional oversight of military spending and authorizations for use of force, and supports expanded veterans' benefits under the PACT Act.
Source → - Government, Elections & Democracy
Panetta emphasizes preserving congressional checks and balances against executive overreach, including requiring congressional approval for major new tariffs, but no specific position was found on campaign finance reform.
Source →
Profiles are compiled from the candidate’s own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.