Federal · Statewide General Election
United States Representative, District 37
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
- Sydney Kamlager-Dove — Democratic
- Samantha Mota — Democratic
This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term).
Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove took 55.2% of the June 2 vote and fellow Democrat Samantha Mota took 11.7%, so November is a contest between two members of the same party. The district covers Culver City and part of central and south Los Angeles.
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.
With two Democrats on the ballot, party is not the axis. The incumbent has sponsored 33 bills this Congress with none becoming law, and her challenger has raised $2,623. Weigh a second-term federal record against a challenge with almost no resources behind it.
Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Democrat, the sitting Representative for this district since 2023. She has sponsored 33 bills in the 119th Congress, none of which have become law so far. She raised $1,150,468, of which $764,660 came from individuals.
Strengths
A high legislative workload for a second-term member, and a clear majority of funding from named individuals.
Trade-offs
None of her 33 sponsored bills have become law.
Keep in mind
Enacted-bill counts undercount House influence, which often runs through amendments and committee work rather than standalone bills.
Samantha Mota
Democrat, who advanced with 11.7% of the June vote against an incumbent of her own party. She raised $2,623, about half of it her own money. She has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress.
Strengths
She gave this district a contested November ballot rather than an uncontested one.
Trade-offs
A campaign of about $2,600 and no record in office leaves very little for a voter to evaluate.
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
Sydney Kamlager-Dove (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 2023 and has sponsored 35 bills in the 119th Congress; none of their bills have become law so far. Samantha Mota 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
Kamlager-Dove — Committees: Foreign Affairs; Judiciary Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Party
- Self-funding
Sydney Kamlager-Dove
$1,150,468 raised
- Individuals$764,66066%
- PACs & committees$383,84233%
- Party$1,392<1%
Samantha Mota
$2,623 raised
- Individuals$1,34951%
- Self-funding$1,27449%
1Total 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
Source review: Very strong (95/100) · 5 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.
- 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
- 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 August 11, 2026.