California primary election 2024: Meet the candidates for 24th Congressional District
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Three candidates are competing in the March 5 primary election to advance in the race for the 24th Congressional District.
Four-term incumbent Salud Carbajal, Democratic school teacher Helena Pasquarella and Republican election data anaylyst Thomas Cole are running. The district includes about 750,000 people in all of Santa Barbara County, part of San Luis Obispo County and Ventura and Ojai in Ventura County.
The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the Nov. 5 general election.
The Star asked the candidates to answer an online questionnaire. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Salud Carbajal
Occupation: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Age: 59
Party: Democrat
Residence: Goleta
Public office: Served in the U.S. House, 2017 - present; served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, 2004 to 2016
Postsecondary election: Bachelor of arts, UC Santa, Barbara; master's in organizational management, Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara
Campaign website: https://saludcarbajal.com
Top issues: Lowering the cost of living, promoting safer communities and growing the middle class.
Reasons for running: I grew up on the Central Coast. My father worked as a farmworker in Ventura County. I graduated from UCSB and proudly served in the Marine Corps Reserves and as Santa Barbara County supervisor. I’ve raised my family here, and I’d be honored to continue working for the Central Coast in Congress. I’ve focused on supporting working families and growing our middle class. I passed laws to create jobs, make investments in infrastructure and lower costs of living. I’ve fought to protect our environment, support veterans and make communities safer. And I’m working across the aisle to get things done.
Thomas Cole
Occupation: Election data analyst
Age: 67
Party: Republican
Residence: Montecito
Previous public office: None
Postsecondary education: Law degree, Southern California Institute of Law, Santa Barbara
Campaign website: https://www.thomascoleforcongress.com
Top issues: Borders, wars and education
Reasons for running: I will protect your families, borders, schools, jobs and economy. I cannot sit back and just do nothing as our nation dissolves into debt, wars, terrible schools, as we lose our constitutional rights and guarantees to government bureaucrats. I am a reasonable, centrist candidate and a debt hawk. We must rein in wasteful, unneeded spending. And that means closing the borders, stopping the endless foreign wars, the endless support of foreign nations that hate us and concentrating on American needs. That is why we have a federal government — to protect our nation, not the entire world. I'm a fiscal hawk but will preserve Social Security and Medicare.
Helena Pasquarella
Occupation: School teacher, caregiver
Age: 58
Party: Democrat
Residence: Ojai
Previous public office: None
Postsecondary education: Bachelor's from Occidental College, master's in education from Johns Hopkins University
Campaign website: www.vote4peace2024.com
Top issues: Cut military spending, invest in social programs at home and economic and environmental justice
Reasons for running: When the U.S. government spends $886 billion on the military that funds numerous wars and supports 800 bases in 80 countries worldwide to "keep the peace," our representatives are not meeting the needs of all Americans. The government has money to spend on the wars in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria and the genocide in Gaza, but not to take care of our battles at home. It would cost $20 billion to end homelessness and $25 billion to end hunger in the U.S., instead Salud Carbajal votes to spend billions on wars all over the world. I want to be a leader for change.
California primary election 2024 information
Primary election voting officially began on Feb. 5, when the county registrar sent vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters and opened up early voting at the county government center. Voting will continue through March 5.
By mail: Submit your mail-in ballot in a mailbox between Feb. 5 - March 5.
Drop off: Drop off your mail-in ballot at a county voting center or in one of the county's 38 official ballot drop boxes between Feb. 5 - March 5.
In person: The county will open 11 voting centers for in person voting beginning Feb. 24, then open all 52 from March 2-5. Hours for all centers are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Election Day, when they run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Early in person: Vote early in-person beginning Feb. 5 at the Ventura County Elections Division office on the bottom floor of the county's Hall of Administration, 800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura.
Voter registration deadlines: Online or through mail by Feb. 20 and in person only from Feb. 21-March 5.
Check registration status: voterstatus.sos.ca.gov
Learn more: venturavote.org
Latest election news: vcstar.com/elections
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: To see more stories like this, subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Primary 2024: Meet 24th Congressional District candidates
