Candidate · November 3, 2026

Zoe Lofgren

On the ballot for U.S. House · California's 18th District

DemocraticIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$2.0M
cash on hand
$602K
issues with public statements
7
outside spending for or against
$109K

§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 18th District1
Party on the ballotDemocratic1,2
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents California's 18th 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.

Zoe Lofgren graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science in 1970 and from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1975.5,6 She worked on the staff of Congressman Don Edwards from 1970 to 1978, practiced and taught immigration law, and was a founder and the first executive director of the nonprofit Community Housing Developers.5,6 She was elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board in 1979 and in 1980 to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, where she served 14 years.5,6 She has served in the U.S. House since 1995, is the ranking member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, serves on the Judiciary Committee, and chaired the House Administration Committee from 2019 to 2021.5,6

Why they say they're running

Her campaign website says she is running for re-election and that her focus is on winning back a Democratic majority in the House.6,7

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, CA-183
  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, CA-183

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.

Immigration

Legal status for immigrants here without permission, including Dreamers

Her campaign website says she supports comprehensive immigration reform and has defended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and her official biography says she was an original cosponsor of the U.S. Citizenship Act and guided House passage of the American Dream and Promise Act for Dreamers and people with temporary protected status.5,6

Legal immigration levels

Her official biography says she has worked to reduce backlogs for family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visas and to create a new visa program for immigrant entrepreneurs.5

  1. Admit more immigrants, such as by adding work visas or clearing family backlogs
  2. Keep green cards and work visas near recent levels
  3. Admit fewer immigrants than in recent years
  4. Pause most new legal immigration for a time
Marked: the option their statement matches.

Agriculture and Rural Life

Visas for farmworkers

Her official biography says she led the bipartisan negotiations that produced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which it says would give an estimated 1.5 million farmworkers a path to legal status and improve the H-2A farm visa program, and which passed the House twice.5

Elections and Government Reform

Campaign finance rules

Her campaign website lists among her accomplishments guiding the For the People Act to House passage twice, which it says would have limited the influence of big money in politics and made it easier to vote.5,6

Technology, Privacy and AI

Data privacy

Her official biography says she introduced the Online Privacy Act, which would create user rights, require companies to protect users' data and set up a new federal agency to enforce privacy protections.5

High-speed internet access

Her official biography says she fought to start the E-Rate program, which provides affordable internet access for schools, libraries and rural health centers.5

Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties

Foreign intelligence surveillance (FISA Section 702)

Her official biography says she led a 2014 bipartisan effort to close backdoor loopholes that allowed unwarranted government surveillance, and in 2020 led efforts to protect Americans' civil liberties during negotiations over renewing FISA.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 Zoe Lofgren served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Zoe Lofgren sponsored or cosponsored 35 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, 2026.61

Raised$1,983,394
Spent$1,620,786
Cash on hand$602,361

Where the money came from

Individual donors$1.2M · 62%
PACs and other political committees$526K · 27%
Political party committees$613 · 0%
Transfers from the candidate's other committees$213K · 11%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$5,557 · 0%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $109,274 supporting and $0 opposing Zoe Lofgren this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through May 27, 2026.62

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
Protect Progress$109,274—

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.