United States Representative, District 19

Jimmy Panetta grew up on the Central Coast. He worked as a prosecutor in Monterey and Alameda counties before going to Congress. He also served as a Navy intelligence officer. He volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan, where he earned the Bronze Star. Back home, he helped start Monterey County's first veterans treatment court.

He says he ran for Congress to give people a shot at a better life. He wants to protect opportunities for working families. In September 2026, a bill he wrote was signed into law. It gives early childhood teachers the same tax break as K through 12 teachers.

He promises to lower prices at grocery stores and gas stations. He wants to make housing cheaper with grants and tax credits. He also wants to expand health care and lower drug prices. He says he will protect a woman's right to choose.

Peter Coe Verbica is a certified financial planner. They lead the wealth management arm of a Santa Cruz County investment firm. They grew up working summers on a cattle ranch. They later became a Rotary volunteer and started a program that sent care packages to troops overseas.

Verbica says their campaign is about making California affordable again. They point to what voters tell them about crime, school costs, and too many rules on business. They have not served in office before. So there is no voting record to judge them on. What we know comes mostly from their own campaign.

Verbica promises to end high gas taxes and get more water to farmers. They want to fix what they call a crisis in the state's insurance market. They also want to give neighborhoods more say over local housing, and ease rules on small businesses.