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Federal · Statewide General Election

United States Representative, District 12

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term).

Representative Lateefah Simon took 84.2% of the June 2 vote and fellow Democrat Jamie Joyce took 15.6%, so November is a contest between two members of the same party. The district covers Oakland and the inner East Bay.

The winner holds one of 435 seats in the U.S. House for a two-year term. A member introduces bills, sits on committees that shape federal legislation, votes on the federal budget and on war powers, and handles casework between constituents and federal agencies. A first-term member is at the bottom of the seniority ladder that governs committee assignments.

An 84% primary against a same-party challenger with $31,247 means the practical question is what the incumbent does with a secure seat in her first full term, not who holds it. Her funding is heavily individual, which is worth noting on its own terms.

Lateefah Simon

Democrat, the sitting Representative for this district since 2025, in her first term. She raised $1,449,191, of which $1,127,684 came from individuals and $261,421 from PACs and committees. She took more than eight in ten votes in June.

Strengths

Roughly 78% of her funding came from named individuals rather than committees, a strong individual base for a first-term member.

Trade-offs

One term is a short federal record to judge, and a substantial share of her money came from PACs and committees.

Keep in mind

An 84% primary is a fact about this district's registration as much as about her record.

Jamie Joyce

Democrat, who advanced with 15.6% of the June vote against an incumbent of her own party. She raised $31,247, almost all of it from individuals. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.

Strengths

A campaign funded entirely by individuals, and a contested November ballot in a district that might otherwise have had none.

Trade-offs

That total is about two percent of the incumbent's, and she has no record in office to be judged on.

Keep in mind

Coverage surfaced almost no detail about why she is challenging an incumbent Democrat. That gap is what was available to us on 2026-08-10, not a comment on her candidacy.

Record in office

Lateefah Simon (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 2025 and has sponsored 11 bills in the 119th Congress; none of their bills have become law so far. Jamie Joyce has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Per Congress.gov and the public-domain congress-legislators roster, retrieved 2026-08-10.

Record details

Simon — Committees: Oversight and Government Reform; Small Business Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.

Financial info

Jamie Joyce

$31,247raised
  • Individuals$31,00099%
  • Self-funding$2471%

Lateefah Simon

$1,449,191raised
  • Individuals$1,127,68481%
  • PACs & committees$261,42119%

Total raised is all receipts for the 2026 cycle; the breakdown lists direct contributions, so the pieces can sum below the total. Figures are FEC filings through June 30, 2026, per the FEC bulk campaign-finance summaries, retrieved 2026-08-22.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Lateefah Simon (Democratic)84.2% · 153,190 votes
Jamie Joyce (Democratic)15.6% · 28,372 votes
Steve Slauson (Republican) · write-in0.2% · 279 votes
Source review: Very strong (95/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

Last updated August 11, 2026.