# United States Representative, District 9 Compare records and positions simply between Josh Harder or John McBride for United States Representative, District 9 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-9 - 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: 83 out of 100 (Strong), across 9 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Josh Harder** — Father/Representative · Democratic - **John McBride** — Athletic Performance Coach · Republican Representative Josh Harder took 60.8% of the June 2 vote and Republican John McBride took 23.3% to claim the second slot. The district covers Stockton, Tracy and part of the northern San Joaquin 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, so a longer-serving member carries influence a newcomer cannot. The incumbent raised $4.08 million with 71% of it from named individuals and has one of the higher bill counts in the delegation. His challenger raised about $52,000. The practical question is what this district gets from a seat held comfortably, in a district that has been competitive in other cycles. ## Josh Harder Josh Harder represents California's 9th District, covering Stockton, Tracy and the northern San Joaquin Valley, and is seeking reelection (campaign site). He worked in venture capital before running for Congress and has continued to teach at Modesto Junior College while in office (Yahoo News district guide). In the House he has focused on lowering health care and prescription drug costs and wrote the Ban Corporate PACs Act, which his campaign cites as proof that "his vote can't be bought" (campaign site). He says he is running because "for too long the Valley has been left behind by politicians" who put their own agendas ahead of results for families (campaign site). His campaign site says a bill he authored providing health care to Vietnam-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange has been signed into law, which it calls a signature achievement (campaign site). He promises to keep pushing for a lower monthly cap on insulin costs and cheaper prescription drugs, along with lower gas prices and more housing supply (campaign site). He opposes the proposed Delta Tunnel project, calling it a "water grab" that would send Valley water to Los Angeles, and says he will keep working with farmers, unions and law enforcement on public safety funding (campaign site). **Strengths:** Seven years in the House, a cross-party coalition of farmers, unions and police, and a signed law expanding veterans' health benefits. **Trade-offs:** A safe seat where one more term changes little in Washington, and no committee chairmanship yet. **Keep in mind:** This district has swung competitive in past cycles, so a comfortable primary does not guarantee a comfortable November. ## John McBride John McBride, known on the campaign trail as "Coach," has worked for decades as a strength and conditioning coach in the Central Valley, including stints at the University of the Pacific and St. Mary's High School in Stockton, where he trained athletes who went on to the NFL and Major League Baseball (campaign site; Yahoo News district guide). He has never held elected office. This is his second campaign for the seat; he ran in 2024 but did not advance past the primary (Yahoo News district guide). He frames his campaign around character over politics, saying "we don't need politicians, we need principled leaders who will stand strong," and describes his motivation as preserving liberty and constitutional rights for future generations (campaign site). He promises tax relief, reduced government spending and small-business support, along with stronger border security and tougher crime penalties (campaign site). On health care he favors what his site calls "medical freedom" and natural approaches, echoing the national "Make America Healthy Again" movement, and he lists water-rights protection and election-integrity measures such as voter ID among his other priorities (campaign site; Yahoo News district guide). **Strengths:** Decades of name recognition in the Stockton area from his coaching career, and a second campaign that has built some local familiarity. **Trade-offs:** No record in office to judge, and he did not advance past the primary the last time he ran. **Keep in mind:** Coverage of his platform is thin beyond his own campaign materials; that gap reflects available reporting, not his candidacy. ## Record in office Josh Harder (Democratic) has served in the U.S. House since 2019 and has sponsored 44 bills in the 119th Congress; 2 of their career bills have become law. John McBride 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 Harder — Committees: Appropriations Harder — HR 4356 (2021): Protecting Families of Fallen Servicemembers Act Harder — HR 3399 (2020): To amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to include California in the program, and for other purposes. Committee assignments and the most recently signed-into-law bills each record-holder lead-authored, from the official legislative record. ## Financial info - **Josh Harder** — $4,083,528 raised (Individuals: $2,899,433; PACs & committees: $506,622; Party: $2,193) - **John McBride** — $52,178 raised (Individuals: $10,309; PACs & committees: $19,882) 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 - Josh Harder for Congress, Josh Harder for Congress, and John McBride 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. [Josh Harder for Congress — campaign homepage (bio, why running)](https://harderforcongress.com/) 4. [Josh Harder for Congress — Issues page (policy priorities)](https://harderforcongress.com/issues/) 5. [John McBride for Congress — campaign homepage (bio, why running, priorities)](https://www.johnmcbrideforcongress.com/) 6. [Yahoo News — voter guide to California's 9th Congressional District race (background on McBride and Harder)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/guide-california-9th-congressional-district-120000119.html) 7. [congress-legislators — current members of Congress (unitedstates project)](https://unitedstates.github.io/congress-legislators/legislators-current.json) 8. [Congress.gov — member sponsored legislation (Library of Congress)](https://api.congress.gov/) 9. [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 9 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 9 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/us-rep-9 (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.