Salud CarbajalIncumbent
Candidate for U.S. Representative, Congressional District 24
Salud Carbajal is a Democrat in the U.S. House. He is the incumbent for California's 24th Congressional District. The district covers Santa Barbara County. It also includes portions of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. He was first elected to Congress in 2016. He was re-elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. In 2024, he defeated Republican challenger Thomas Cole. Carbajal came to the United States from Mexico at age five. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1990. It came from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He earned a master's degree in organizational management. It came from Fielding Graduate University. He served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. That included a call to active duty during the 1992 Gulf War. Before Congress, he served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. He spent 12 years there. In Congress, he sits on the House Armed Services Committee. He also sits on the House Agriculture Committee. He serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well. There he is the Ranking Member of one subcommittee. That one covers Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. He is married to Gina Carbajal. They have two children, Natasha and Michael. Home: Santa Barbara County, California. Occupation: U.S. Representative (incumbent). Prior office: incumbent since 2017, first elected November 2016. He served before on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for 12 years.
On the issues
- Economy & Jobs
Supports raising the minimum wage, paycheck fairness/equal pay legislation, job creation through infrastructure investment, and has criticized Trump-era tariff policies as harmful to Central Coast businesses.
Source → - Taxes & Cost of Living
Has pushed for tariff cost transparency and utility bill relief, opposing recent tariff increases as raising costs for constituents, though a detailed personal statement on federal tax rates or the debt was not found.
Source → - Health & Health Care
Supports protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act, opposes cuts to Medicare, backs Medicare drug-price negotiation and insulin cost caps, and favors a public health insurance option.
Source → - Immigration & Border
Supports comprehensive immigration reform, permanent codification of DACA, a pathway to earned legal status for farmworkers, and expedited naturalization for military service members; no specific statement on border security enforcement or refugee/asylum policy was found on his official page.
Source → - Reproductive & Social Issues
Supports LGBTQ rights and civil rights broadly, including same-sex marriage recognition and anti-discrimination protections; no specific public statement on federal abortion legislation (e.g., the Women's Health Protection Act) was found in available sources.
Source → - Education & Schools
Supports doubling and inflation-indexing Pell Grants to reduce student debt, and backs increased funding for Head Start and special-education (IDEA) programs.
Source → - Public Safety & Policing
Supports federal gun-safety measures including universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, and extreme risk protection orders, while stating support for the Second Amendment.
Source → - Criminal Justice & Courts
Supports Veterans' Treatment Courts as an alternative pathway for veterans involved in the criminal justice system dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues; no broader federal sentencing, bail, or drug enforcement policy statement was found.
Source → - Environment, Energy & Climate
Supports aggressive climate action and clean energy investment, opposes new offshore oil and gas leasing off California, and backs offshore wind development and public lands/ocean conservation.
Source → - Foreign Policy & Defense
Supports defense oversight and reducing nuclear stockpiles, backed pay raises for service members, and champions expanded veterans' health care (PACT Act) and homelessness reduction programs; no specific statement on foreign relations/aid or trade agreements was found.
Source → - Government, Elections & Democracy
Supports campaign finance reform to limit corporate money in politics and backs restoring federal voting rights protections.
Source →
Profiles are compiled from the candidate’s own statements and public records. We never tell you how to vote.