The Winner

If you live in California’s 49th Congressional District, Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) will keep representing you after winning a fifth term. The Associated Press called the race for Levin at 11:13 p.m. Pacific time on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3. ​

Levin has 165,332 votes (58.7%) to 116,160 (41.3%) for Republican Armen Kurdian, a margin of about 17 points, with an estimated 82% of votes counted. California counts mail ballots for weeks, so the totals will keep growing.

The Race

Kurdian, a Vista resident who served 25 years in the Navy and retired as a captain, entered the race in March after San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond left it to run in the neighboring 48th District, Voice of San Diego reported. In the June 2 top-two primary, Levin took 55.9% and Kurdian finished second with 26.1%, ahead of Republican Star Parker, according to Ballotpedia’s race page. Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Democratic, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic.

The race used the new district lines California voters approved through Proposition 50 in November 2025. The district runs along the coast of southern Orange County and northern San Diego County, taking in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, San Clemente and part of the city of San Diego, according to the California Senate Office of Demographics.

About 754,600 people live in the district, and residents are 60.6% white, 27.4% Hispanic, 7.2% Asian and 2.4% Black. The median household income is $121,100, and the median age is 39.5. Of adults, 49.4% hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is 5.4% and 7.6% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Levin’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, and he will serve in the new Democratic House majority. One of his long-running priorities is getting spent nuclear fuel moved out of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant just south of San Clemente.

A week before the election, Levin said all of San Onofre’s spent fuel is now in dry storage but warned, “We cannot mistake progress for a permanent solution,” according to his office. He said he would keep working across party lines for the money, reforms and storage options needed to move the waste offsite.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article