Review note: Pete Aguilar for Congress may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.
- sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CA Secretary of State — Statement of Vote, June 2, 2026 primary (certified 2026-07-10)
- ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia — June 2026 California primary
- aguilar.house.gov (opens in a new tab)Rep. Pete Aguilar — Full Biography (used for career history, leadership role)
- peteaguilar.com (opens in a new tab)Pete Aguilar for Congress — campaign site (used for why running, promises)
- aguilar.house.gov (opens in a new tab)Rep. Aguilar Visits Inland Empire Health Facilities Impacted by Republican Healthcare Funding Cuts (used for documented fact)
- unitedstates.github.io (opens in a new tab)congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)
- api.congress.gov (opens in a new tab)Congress.gov — member sponsored legislation (Library of Congress)
- fec.gov (opens in a new tab)FEC — 2026 House & Senate current-campaign financial summaries (bulk data)
Last updated September 24, 2026.
Federal
United States Representative, District 33
This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term).
Representative Pete Aguilar took 53.5% of the June 2 vote. Republican Stephanie M. Vargas took 17.5% to advance. The district covers San Bernardino and part of the Inland Empire.
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, so a longer-serving member carries influence a newcomer cannot.
The incumbent raised $4.72 million — among the largest congressional funds on this ballot — with PACs and committees as his single largest source at $2.09 million, against an opponent who has reported nothing. Weigh a decade of seniority and that funding shape against a district that gave him 53.5%.
Pete Aguilar
Pete Aguilar has represented this Inland Empire district in Congress since 2015. Before that he was mayor of Redlands. He started working at age twelve in his grandfather's cafeteria and paid for college with loans and grants. In the current Congress he chairs the House Democratic Caucus, the party's top leadership post in the chamber. He has authored bills on water infrastructure, health care access and education funding for the region.
He says he is running to bring Democrats and Republicans together to solve problems facing the district. In July 2026 he visited two Inland Empire health clinics after federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. One clinic said it had already lost more than a tenth of its Medi-Cal patients. Aguilar said he would keep fighting to restore the funding.
He promises to lower prescription drug and health care costs. He also promises to make housing more affordable, expand manufacturing jobs, cut taxes and paperwork for small businesses, and fix the immigration system. He says he will keep expanding job support and protections for veterans.
Stephanie M. Vargas
Stephanie M. Vargas is the Republican candidate for this seat, listed on the ballot as chief Deputy Clerk. They have not served in elected office.
No campaign website, interview or news coverage of their reasons for running could be located, and no vote, lawsuit or other public incident is on record.
With no published platform to draw on, their promises cannot be listed here in their own words. That is a gap in what is public, not a comment on their candidacy.
Record in office
Pete Aguilar (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 2015 and has sponsored 18 bills in the 119th Congress; 3 of their career bills have become law. Stephanie M. Vargas 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.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
Pete Aguilar
$4,722,835 raised
- Individuals$1,908,33348%
- PACs & committees$2,091,00152%
1Stephanie M. Vargas has no fundraising on file with the FEC.
2Total 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.