Incumbent Democrat John Garamendi appears on track to return to Congress for his ninth term representing California’s 8th District, if early election results remain steady after all ballots are counted.
Garamendi, 79, built a commanding lead early Tuesday night, surging ahead of Republican challenger Rudy Recile, a former U.S. Army Major and former Department of Agriculture employee based in Vallejo.
Recile, 56, unsuccessfully ran for this same Congressional seat in 2022, when 76% of voters backed Garamendi to represent District 8, which encompasses Contra Costa and Solano counties, including the cities of Vallejo, Fairfield, Richmond and parts of Martinez.
Election officials had counted more than 130,137 ballots by 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to California Secretary of State records.
These early unofficial tallies were limited to vote-by-mail ballots and voters who cast their ballots in-person prior to Election Day, and final results are not expected for several days, as mail-in ballots continue to arrive and in-person election day votes are counted.
Garamendi has enjoyed a political career spanning nearly five decades, starting with his election to the California State Legislature in 1974. He went on to serve four terms in the state Senate, two non-consecutive terms as California’s insurance commissioner, and was appointed deputy secretary of the interior by President Bill Clinton in 1995.
Two years after being elected lieutenant governor in 2007, Garamendi won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he currently represents voters in Contra Costa and Solano counties. He has co-sponsored 66 bills signed into law, and has been a vocal advocate for strengthening environmental protections, affordable healthcare and American manufacturing.
Arguably the biggest election hurdle for Garamendi arose in July, after he was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer and began chemo-immunotherapy in Sacramento.
While Recile was campaigning for the historically blue district, he frequently referenced disinformation — rhetoric mirrored by former President Donald Trump, whom Recile said he is backing in 2024.
If elected, Recile said he wants to draft legislation to help state and local officials quell criminal activity, create special protection districts that would contract and license private security companies to collaborate with local police, expand veteran services and provide a 20% tax break for property owners that revamp vacant properties with new businesses.
