Tom McClintock

Tom McClintock's teenage letters to a local newspaper eventually led to a column.¹ His father worked in advertising sales, and his mother became a real estate agent.² Born in New York, he earned a bachelor's degree at UCLA in 1978.³

McClintock worked as a journalist and public policy analyst before winning election to the California Assembly in 1982, when he was 26.³ Across separate periods in the Assembly and Senate, he spent 22 years in the state legislature.⁴ He also ran for governor in the 2003 recall election and twice received the Republican nomination for state controller.⁴ He entered Congress in January 2009.³

His current committee work includes Judiciary, Natural Resources and Budget, and he chairs the immigration enforcement subcommittee.⁴ He advocates curbing unauthorized appropriations and mandatory spending to balance the federal budget.⁴ His campaign also emphasizes new reservoirs, forest management, public access to federal lands and fire prevention.⁵

McClintock sharply criticized Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas's border policies but argued against his impeachment in 2024, saying policy disputes should not become grounds for removing a cabinet secretary.⁶ That year, he also argued that federal surveillance powers needed a warrant requirement, warning that relying on agencies to police themselves would leave Americans' privacy vulnerable.⁷ His November opponent is Michael Masuda.⁸