Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat who has represented swaths of Ventura and Los Angeles counties for more than a decade, announced Thursday that she would not seek re-election.
“Serving our community and our country has been the honor of my life. Every step of this journey has been shaped by the people I represent, by their resilience, their determination and their belief that government can and should work for the common good,” Brownley said, touting his efforts to expand access to health care, support veterans, fight climate change and other political priorities, as well as constituent services. “We…never lost sight of the simple truth that public service is about being there for people when they need help most.”
Brownley, 73, did not say why he decided not to seek reelection, but he joins more than 40 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have announced they will not run again for their seats in November. Other Californians not seeking re-election include Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), who is running for governor.
Brownley served on the Malibu-Santa Monica Unified School District board of education and in the state Assembly before successfully running for Congress in 2012. At the time, the district was almost evenly divided between Democratic and Republican voters. But since then, the district has become more liberal.
In 2024, when the 26th Congressional District included Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Westlake Village and a portion of San Buenaventura, the congresswoman won re-election with 56.6% of the votes over Republican businessman Michael Koslow, who received 43.4% of the votes cast. At the time, voter registration in the district was 42.5% Democratic, 29.6% Republican, and 20.4% Independent.
The district became more Democratic after the passage of Proposition 50, the redrawing of congressional maps that California voters approved in November to counter President Trump's efforts to increase the number of Republicans elected to Congress in GOP-led states. Simi Valley was removed from the district, while Hidden Hills, parts of Palmdale, Lancaster, and nearby desert areas were added to the district.
Republican candidates had already announced plans to challenge Brownley this year, including Koslow. On Thursday, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Brownley's seat hours after the congresswoman announced she would not seek re-election.
