2026 midterms · California
California Senate
U.S. Senate · primary Jun 2, 2026 · general election Nov 3, 2026
- candidates
- 5
- Democrats
- 4
- Republicans
- 1
Senate seats up in California in 2026
Neither of California’s Senate seats is on the 2026 ballot. The tracker lists this race because candidates have filed with the FEC for a later Senate election, and it adds the sitting senators to it.
The candidates
Five candidates in the primary. Two incumbents and three challengers.
Status is the FEC’s: an incumbent holds the seat, a challenger runs against one, and an open seat has no incumbent running. No result is recorded for this primary yet, so everyone running is listed.
Not a 2026 race as listed.Neither of California’s Senate seats is on the 2026 ballot. The tracker lists this race because candidates have filed with the FEC for a later Senate election, and it adds the sitting senators to it.
Democrats
Challenger · no statements on file · $0 raised
Incumbent · 17,605 statements classified · official profile
Challenger · no statements on file · $0 raised
Incumbent · 13,099 statements classified · official profile
Republicans
Challenger · no statements on file · $0 raised
Notes
What they say
The candidates’ statements differ most on policy discussion: from 63% to 76%. Two of the five candidates have 10 or more classified statements.
An AI model reads each statement and marks the kinds of statement it contains; each bar is the share of a candidate’s statements with that label. Incumbent members of Congress are measured on everything they publish in office, everyone else on posts on X. A rate describes what was said, not whether it was right.
How do the candidates’ statements compare?
Share of each candidate’s statements with each label; grey tick: median of ranked Senate candidates
Personal attacks
Median 3.1% · axis 0–80%
- Padilla D3.1%
- Schiff D14%
Policy criticism
Median 18% · axis 0–80%
- Padilla D23%
- Schiff D25%
Policy discussion
Median 61% · axis 0–80%
- Padilla D76%
- Schiff D63%
Bipartisanship
Median 5.3% · axis 0–80%
- Padilla D10%
- Schiff D5.3%
Credit claiming
Median 15% · axis 0–80%
- Padilla D22%
- Schiff D11%
Show the data
| Candidate | Party | Statements | Personal attacks | Policy criticism | Policy discussion | Bipartisanship | Credit claiming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alejandro Padilla | D | 17,605 | 3.1% | 23% | 76% | 10% | 22% |
| Adam Schiff | D | 13,099 | 14% | 25% | 63% | 5.3% | 11% |
| Median, ranked Senate candidates | 3.1% | 18% | 61% | 5.3% | 15% |
The five kinds of statement
Personal attacks. Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
Policy criticism. Objects to a specific policy, law or court ruling with fact-based arguments, without personal attacks or emotional appeals.
Policy discussion. Discusses a specific public policy or policy area (health care, taxes, defense, …).
Bipartisanship. Emphasises working across the aisle, compromise or common ground between the parties.
Credit claiming. Claims credit for passing legislation, securing funding or grants, or other accomplishments in office.
Candidates with fewer than 10 classified statements are left out. The grey tick is the median of the ranked Senate candidates (50 or more statements), for scale.
Money
Reported receipts range from $0 to $0. Three of the five candidates have campaign-finance figures from the FEC.
Totals each campaign reports to the Federal Election Commission for the 2026 cycle: money raised, money spent and cash on hand at the end of the latest filing.
How much has each candidate raised?
Total receipts reported to the FEC, with cash on hand
- Matthew Mcgurr$0$0 on hand
- Melanie Ram$0$0 on hand
- Heath Fulkerson$0$0 on hand
Show the data
| Candidate | Party | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand | Debts | Individuals | PACs | Party committees | Own money | Candidate loans | Through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Mcgurr | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | — |
| Melanie Ram | D | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | — |
| Heath Fulkerson | R | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | — |