Candidate · November 3, 2026
Melissa Hernandez
On the ballot for U.S. House · California's 14th District
- raised through Oct 14, 2026
- $2.1M
- cash on hand
- $108K
- issues with public statements
- 13
- outside spending for or against
- $4.7M
§1On the ballot
Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.
| Office | U.S. House · California's 14th District1 |
|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | Democratic1, |
| Status | Challenger |
| How it's decided | Under California's top-two system, only the two candidates who received the most votes in the June 2, 2026, primary, regardless of party preference, appear on this general-election ballot.1, |
| Also on the ballot |
|
§2Who they are
Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Melissa Hernandez earned a degree in political science, public affairs and administration from California State University, East Bay.4 She worked as a small business manager in the dental and health fields and has lived in Dublin for more than 30 years.4 She served as mayor of Dublin, the first Latina to hold that office, and is a member of the BART Board of Directors, which she has led as board president, and chair of the Valley Link board.4,
Why they say they're running
Her campaign website says she is running to bring the results-driven leadership she showed as mayor of Dublin to Washington, and that lowering costs for working families will be her first priority.5,
Websites and accounts
- Campaign websitemelissahernandez2026.com1,
2 - Campaign websitemelissahernandez2026.com6,
7 - Instagraminstagram.com/melissahernandezforcongress6
- Facebookfacebook.com/MelissaHernandezForCongress6
- YouTubeyoutube.com/@MelissaHernandez4Congress20266
§3What they've said on the issues
Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.
Social Security and Medicare
Her campaign website says she would protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts.5
Housing
Her campaign website says she would make it easier for first-time homebuyers to afford a down payment and get a home loan, and would provide incentives to build new housing and lower the cost of raw materials.5
Family and Social Policy
Her campaign website says she supports expanding the Child Tax Credit and recruiting, training and paying child care workers more.5
Her campaign website says she supports paid family and medical leave.5
Health Care
Her campaign website says she would restore the insurance subsidies that lower premiums and restore funding for health programs serving vulnerable families.5
Abortion and Reproductive Health
Her campaign website says she would work to restore reproductive freedom by supporting legislation such as the Women's Health Protection Act.5
- A national law making abortion legal in every state, at least until viability, as under Roe v. Wade
- Leave abortion law to each state
- A national law limiting abortion (for example, after 15 weeks of pregnancy)
Immigration
Her campaign website says she supports a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and for undocumented residents who already contribute to the economy.5
- No new legal status, including for people brought here as children
- Legal status only for people brought here as children, such as DACA recipients
- Legal status, but not citizenship, for most who pass background checks and pay a fine
- A path to citizenship for most who meet requirements such as background checks
Her campaign website says ICE needs fundamental reform and is deporting immigrants who contribute to their communities, many of whom are already going through the legal immigration process, and that she supports border security and regional cooperation on the causes of migration.5
Energy and Climate
Her campaign website says she supports legislation to fully restore the Inflation Reduction Act and a shift toward a range of renewable energy sources.5
- End the remaining clean energy credits
- Keep the credits as the 2025 law left them
- Restore the credits the 2025 law ended or cut back
Elections and Government Reform
Her campaign website says she supports legislation reversing staff cuts at the EPA and the Department of Transportation.5
Technology, Privacy and AI
Her campaign website says she supports federal standards for artificial intelligence rather than a patchwork of 50 state laws.5
- Override state AI laws with a single national approach
- Set national rules as a minimum and let states add stronger ones
- Let states keep writing their own AI laws
Economy, Jobs and Trade
Her campaign website says she supports clear rules for cryptocurrency and other financial technologies that give innovators regulatory certainty and protect consumers from scams and fraud.5
Crime, Policing and Prisons
Her campaign website says she would give police, firefighters and emergency responders the training, staffing and resources they need, and invest in mental health crisis response so police are not the only option.5
§4Money
Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.
Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.8
| Raised | $2,112,674 |
|---|---|
| Spent | $2,004,315 |
| Cash on hand | $108,358 |
| Debts owed by the campaign | $19,220 |
Where the money came from
Outside spending
Groups spending independently reported $4,286,570 supporting and $410,300 opposing Melissa Hernandez this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 9, 2026.9
| Group | Supporting | Opposing |
|---|---|---|
| BOLD America | $1,838,225 | — |
| UNITED DEMOCRACY PROJECT (UDP) | $825,293 | — |
| Project 218 | $500,000 | — |
| SD 2026 | $398,726 | — |
| ALAMEDA COME TOGETHER PAC | $356,146 | — |
| AMERICAN PRIORITIES (AP) | — | $210,300 |
| PRO-CHOICE MAJORITY ACTION | $200,000 | — |
| PROGRESSIVE PROMISE | — | $200,000 |
Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.