Review note: Lou Correa and David Pan for Congress may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides 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
- loucorrea.com (opens in a new tab)Lou Correa — campaign site (biography and stated approach)
- davidpan4congress.com (opens in a new tab)David Pan for Congress — campaign site (biography and issues pages)
- unitedstates.github.io (opens in a new tab)congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)
- 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 46
This person holds your district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (2-year term).
This is an open seat. Democrat Lou Correa led the June 2 primary with an outright majority at 51.9%. Republican David Pan took 32.9%. The district covers Santa Ana and part of central Orange County.
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. Because this seat is open, whoever wins starts at the bottom of the seniority ladder.
The leading candidate took a majority outright in June, which in an open seat usually means the party's coalition consolidated early. His funding is majority-committee, the less common balance in this part of the ballot. Weigh that against an opponent running on about six percent of the money.
Lou Correa
Lou Correa has spent decades in Orange County politics. He served in the state Assembly, then the state Senate, then on the county Board of Supervisors, and has represented Orange County in the U.S. House. He does not currently hold this particular seat.
His campaign says his approach is focused on people, not partisan games. Because this district was redrawn for this cycle, any seniority he built up in Congress before would not carry over if he wins it.
He promises to keep helping Orange County families reach middle class stability. His campaign describes him as someone who listens, collaborates, and delivers results.
David Pan
David Pan has taught German at UC Irvine since 2006, after earlier jobs at Stanford, Penn State, and Washington University in St. Louis. He also worked as a consultant at McKinsey and Company and served on a State Department commission on human rights from 2019 to 2020.
Pan says he decided to run because he has seen the education system move away from merit and equal opportunity. He has not held elected office, so his record is his career, not a voting history.
He promises school choice through charter schools and vouchers, more police hiring, and tighter rules on university research funding. He would also replace current welfare programs with a universal basic income paid partly in cash and partly as a health benefit.
Record in office
This is an open seat: no candidate on the November ballot currently serves in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress, so there is no legislative record to compare here. These records cover only those offices.
Financial info
- Individuals
- PACs & committees
- Self-funding
Lou Correa
$1,226,104 raised
- Individuals$417,35539%
- PACs & committees$666,28361%
David Pan
$80,726 raised
- Individuals$70,66788%
- PACs & committees$250<1%
- Self-funding$9,00011%
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 2026-09-21.