United States Representative, District 5

Tom McClintock is a Republican. He has represented this district in Congress since 2009. He sits on the Budget, Judiciary and Natural Resources committees. He has pushed bills on forest management and wildfire prevention. He says old rules on dams and reservoirs turned normal droughts into shortages.

McClintock is running for another term. He wants to keep pushing this agenda in Washington. He has called tariffs a mistake that slows economic growth. But he still supports using them as leverage in trade talks. He also defended the strike on Iran. It went ahead without a vote in Congress. He said the War Powers Act gives 60 days before troops must be withdrawn.

McClintock promises to keep pushing for new dams and reservoirs. He wants federal funding to raise Shasta Dam. He backs continued tax cuts and stronger border enforcement. He also wants to cut what he calls wasteful government subsidies.

Michael Masuda is an electrical engineer. He spent seven years in defense research. He also spent three and a half years as a State Department diplomat. He worked on science and technology policy. He grew up in rural Amador County. He is the only candidate in this race who lives in the district. He says he is not a politician. This is his first run for office.

Masuda says voters in the district are tired of being overlooked by Washington. He opposed the strikes on Iran. Congress never voted on them. He says the war raised gas prices and hurt consumers. He has held town halls across the district. McClintock did not attend one of them.

Masuda wants to treat affordability as a set of practical problems. He starts with housing supply. He wants more federal money for the Forest Service and prescribed burns to cut wildfire risk. He wants more funding for special education. He wants to end what he calls immigration enforcement carried out through chaos and fear. He also opposes repealing the Affordable Care Act.