Elect Brynne Kennedy to push CA-04 in the right direction.

About the Position

The United States is divided into 435 congressional districts, each with a population of about 710,000 individuals. Each district elects a representative to the House of Representatives for a two-year term. California has 53 congressional representatives. There is no term limit for this position.  

About the District

California's geographically diverse 4th Congressional District includes Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, and Tuolumne Counties and portions of Fresno, Madera, Nevada, and Placer Counties. Republicans have held this district since 1992, when John Doolittle flipped CA-04 from blue to red. Incumbent Rep. McClintock has held this position since 2009.

CA-04’s recent voting history suggests that the purple district may flip blue soon. In the 2018 election, Rep. McClintock won by a slim 8-point margin over a Democratic challenger, indicating the changing social and political demographics of the district. In the 2020 Presidential primary, 48 percent of CA-04 voted for a Democratic candidate and 52 percent voted for a Republican candidate. Before that, In the 2016 Presidential election, Donald Trump won 54 percent of the vote in CA-04, with 39.2 percent for Hillary Clinton and 6.7 percent for third-party candidates. 

About the Race

In the primary, Democrat challenger Brynne Kennedy trailed Republican incumbent Tom McClintock by 10.9 percent. The four unsuccessful candidates collected 9.4 percent of the total vote, which will put the choice between Kennedy and McClintock in November. Half of those other votes were won by the only other woman candidate, who is a registered Republican, which suggests that gender could be a deciding factor against party lines for voters in CA-04.

Kennedy’s campaign is primarily funded by large individual contributions (84 percent) and has not accepted any corporate PAC donations or fossil fuel money. Kennedy has accepted $13,135 from pharmaceuticals and health products. Kennedy has also received contributions from the Blue Dog PAC, which is composed of moderate Democrats supporting fiscal conservatism, and Jim Cooper for Assembly, whose campaign is primarily funded by police money. Rep. McClintock’s campaign is backed by the Majority Committee PAC, which is dedicated to winning a Republican Majority in the House of Representatives. Rep. McClintock has accepted $31,559 from the oil and gas industries and $10,135 from gun rights groups. He is also endorsed by the California Pro-Life Council, California Republican Assembly, and the National Rifle Association.

About the Candidate

Brynne Kennedy is from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and moved to Roseville in 2019. According to campaign materials, she is running for Congress to put partisanship aside to fight the right solutions for a more progressive California. Kennedy, a businesswoman, founded Topia and Mobility4All, organizations that focus on mobility software and relieving the refugee crisis, respectively. Kennedy has won several awards for her work in the global mobility field, including 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year, 2016 Management Today’s 35 under 35, 2017 Workforce Game Changer, 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year, Worldwide Employee Relocation Council’s Meritorious Service Award, and the London Business School’s Distinguished Alumni Entrepreneur award.

If elected, Kennedy’s priorities for CA-04 include strengthening the Affordable Care Act, protecting reproductive health services, investing in a clean energy economy, and updating the district’s water infrastructure. As a prominent businesswoman, Kennedy has demonstrated strong support for women’s rights, especially in the workplace. Kennedy also supports gun violence prevention. She supports immigration reform through hiring more border patrol, protecting DACA, and reforming the visa and asylum process. However, she does support building physical barriers at the border as part of her views on immigration.

Kennedy is endorsed by many progressive groups, such as California Teachers Association, Equality California, NARAL-Pro Choice America, and the National Women’s Political Caucus. Despite Kennedy’s minimal roots in the district, the threat of Republican McClintock’s policies greatly outweighs Kennedy’s short history in the district and lack of government experience. According to our analysis, Brynne Kennedy is the strongest choice for equitable and representative leadership in office.