Candidate · November 3, 2026

Ted W. Lieu

On the ballot for U.S. House · California's 36th District

DemocraticIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$2.2M
cash on hand
$1.2M
issues with public statements
2
outside spending for or against
$106K

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. House · California's 36th District1
Party on the ballotDemocratic1,2
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents California's 36th District in the U.S. House.3
How it's decidedUnder 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.1,4
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.

Ted Lieu's family immigrated to the United States when he was three; he earned undergraduate degrees in computer science and political science from Stanford and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, and then clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.5 He served four years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force and then in the Air Force Reserve until he retired in 2021 as a colonel.5 He practiced civil law, served on the Torrance City Council and served nearly a decade in the California State Assembly and State Senate.5 He is serving his sixth term in Congress, where he is vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus and serves on the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees, and he lives in Torrance with his wife, Betty, and their two sons.5

Why they say they're running

His campaign website says he is working to make sure working- and middle-class families have the opportunities his immigrant parents found, and to defend the country's values, rights and democracy against what it calls extremism, corruption and chaos.6

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, CA-363
  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, CA-363

Websites and accounts

§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.

Crime, Policing and Prisons

Cash bail and pretrial release

His campaign website says he wrote a bill to end money bail.5

  1. Require bail or jail before trial for more charges
  2. Keep current bail rules
  3. End or reduce cash bail, with judges deciding release based on risk
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Technology, Privacy and AI

Rules for artificial intelligence

His campaign website says he co-chaired the House's bipartisan task force on artificial intelligence and introduced legislation to create a national AI commission.5

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Ted W. Lieu served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Ted W. Lieu sponsored or cosponsored 45 of the 52. How bills die without a vote.

See all 52

§5Money

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, 2026.60

Raised$2,218,448
Spent$1,712,030
Cash on hand$1,181,424
Debts owed by the campaign$100,000

Where the money came from

Individual donors$1.1M · 51%
PACs and other political committees$735K · 33%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$337K · 15%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$23K · 1%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $106,348 supporting and $0 opposing Ted W. Lieu this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through May 27, 2026.61

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
Protect Progress$106,348—

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.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.