# United States Representative, District 32 Compare records and positions simply between Brad Sherman or Larry Thompson for United States Representative, District 32 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term). - Jurisdiction: Federal - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-32 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 24, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 88 out of 100 (Strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Brad Sherman** — United States Congressman/Dad · Democratic - **Larry Thompson** — Attorney/Film Producer · Republican Representative Brad Sherman led the June 2 primary with 36.8% and Republican Larry Thompson took 32.7%. Sherman has held this seat since 1997, and 36.8% is the weakest primary showing by any long-serving member on this ballot. The district covers the western San Fernando Valley. 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. Seniority governs committee standing, and nearly three decades of it is a substantial asset for a district. Twenty-nine years of seniority set against a 36.8% primary is the tension in this race. The incumbent has both the deepest committee standing available to this district and the weakest recent mandate of any long-serving member here. Weigh accumulated influence against that signal, and note his challenger is largely self-financed. ## Brad Sherman Brad Sherman has represented the San Fernando Valley and parts of the Westside in Congress since 1997 and is a senior member of both the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services Committees (campaign site). His campaign says he played a role in establishing the agency that became the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (campaign site). In July 2026 his bipartisan Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act became law as part of a larger housing package, despite White House opposition to the underlying bill (sherman.house.gov). In September 2026 he co-authored a Joint Resolution of Disapproval opposing the Trump administration's nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, citing nuclear proliferation risk (sherman.house.gov). His office lists foreign policy priorities including Armenian genocide recognition, sanctions on Iran, support for Israel, and human rights in China's Xinjiang region, alongside gun violence prevention, consumer protection and veterans' issues (sherman.house.gov). **Strengths:** Twenty-nine years of seniority, senior posts on two major committees, and a veterans' housing bill that became law this year. **Trade-offs:** Three decades in one seat is a long time for one district to be represented by one person, whatever the accomplishments. **Keep in mind:** His record includes a law he wrote that passed over White House objection and a resolution opposing a Saudi nuclear deal; weigh that against how long one person has held this seat. ## Larry Thompson Larry Thompson is a businessman, attorney and film producer running as a Republican against 15-term incumbent Brad Sherman (campaign site). They have not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress. Thompson describes themselves as "a Christian first, a Conservative second, and a Centrist, Independent-Minded Republican third" (campaign site). They say they are running "to awaken, organize, and unite" dissatisfied Democratic voters, conservative voters and undecided independents, calling themselves "The Sanity Man" (campaign site). Thompson promises to "always protect family values" and to govern by what they call "Common Sense with Common Civility to find Common Ground," laid out in a 32-point platform on their campaign site (campaign site). They have also been rated highly by the advocacy group Stand With Crypto for their positions on cryptocurrency policy (campaign site). **Strengths:** A campaign built on their own outreach effort, with a detailed public platform and no record in office to weigh it against. **Trade-offs:** No record in any office, so what voters can judge is their platform and campaign promises, not a governing record. **Keep in mind:** No record in office to judge; their platform's specifics, not a governing record, are what voters have to go on here. ## Record in office Brad Sherman (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 1997 and has sponsored 13 bills in the 119th Congress; 3 of their career bills have become law. Larry Thompson 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 2026-09-21. ## Record details Sherman — Committees: Financial Services; Foreign Affairs Sherman — HR 7440 (2020): Hong Kong Autonomy Act Sherman — HR 4646 (2006): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 7320 Reseda Boulevard in Reseda, California, as the "Coach John Wooden Post Office Building". Sherman — HR 5340 (2002): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5805 White Oak Avenue in Encino, California, as the "Francis Dayle 'Chick' Hearn Post Office". Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Brad Sherman** — $2,514,330 raised (Individuals: $1,435,453; PACs & committees: $703,424) - **Larry Thompson** — $34,316 raised (Individuals: $6,864; Self-funding: $27,452) 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 2026-09-21. ## Review notes - Brad Sherman for Congress and Larry Thompson for Congress may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources. ## Sources 1. [CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)](https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-june-2-2026/statement-vote) 2. [Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary](https://ballotpedia.org) 3. [sherman.house.gov — Brad Sherman press releases (votes, bills)](https://sherman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases) 4. [Brad Sherman for Congress — campaign site (biography)](https://www.bradsherman.com/) 5. [Larry Thompson for Congress — campaign site (biography, quotes, platform)](https://www.larrythompsonforcongress.com) 6. [congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)](https://unitedstates.github.io/congress-legislators/legislators-current.json) 7. [Congress.gov — member sponsored legislation (Library of Congress)](https://api.congress.gov/) 8. [FEC — 2026 House & Senate current-campaign financial summaries (bulk data)](https://www.fec.gov/files/bulk-downloads/2026/webl26.zip) ## The rest of the ballot United States Representative, District 32 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "United States Representative, District 32 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-32 (sources last retrieved September 24, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.