By admin 
A longtime Republican incumbent and a first-time Democratic candidate are facing off in November for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in California’s Republican-leaning 5th District.
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U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, has represented most of the district’s communities since 2009 and previously served in the state Assembly and Senate. Michael Masuda, a self-described “engineer, not a politician,” grew up in the congressional district in Amador County and previously worked for the U.S. Department of State as a foreign affairs officer.
Even after redistricting through Proposition 50, which redrew California’s congressional boundaries in a way designed to increase Democrats’ chances of winning more U.S. House seats, McClintock finished well ahead of Masuda in the primary election with 129,653 votes, or 61.3%. Masuda finished second with 24.3% of the vote, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Where is the district?
After redistricting, the 5th Congressional District spans much of Gold Country, covering Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa and Mono counties and much of Inyo County, as well as parts of Stanislaus, El Dorado, San Joaquin, Fresno and Madera counties.
The redistricting pushed the 5th District boundaries to the eastern California border, adding portions of Alpine, Mono and Inyo counties.
Who are the candidates?
McClintock was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 4th District, which was redistricted into the 5th District in 2023 but still covers much of the same territory. He has not faced “serious GOP opposition” in the district since his first election in 2008, according to the Cook Political Report, which provides independent, nonpartisan election analysis.
McClintock generally votes with his party. He was a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” — a major federal tax and spending law that made permanent many of Trump’s 2017 tax changes — and he co-sponsored a bill in 2024 to continue sending military funding to Israel.
McClintock has pushed for greater local control of federally managed public lands and fewer environmental regulations, including regulations affecting construction of dams and other water-storage infrastructure. He supports California’s Proposition 39, which would require voters to show identification and prove they are U.S. citizens to vote in state elections.
Masuda is an engineer by training and grew up in Amador County, where he graduated from Amador High School, according to his campaign website. He and his wife live in the county with their two children, ages 4 and 2.
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He was selected in 2021 for a science and technology policy fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which places scientists and engineers in federal government positions to help with policymaking.
Masuda said his priorities include keeping rural hospitals open, tackling the high cost of living — with a focus on housing, health care and energy — and preparing for and mitigating the effects of wildfires through forest management. He has also said he wants to investigate insurance companies that have dropped rural homeowners because of fire risk.
Who is funding the race?
McClintock’s campaign raised more than 2½ times as much as Masuda’s, though Masuda had more than double the number of individual contributions. According to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings through June, McClintock had $926,600 in net contributions. Masuda had about $358,800.
McClintock has some big-name donors in his list, including the real estate developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, who gave $7,000 to McClintock’s campaign; his wife, Sofia, who gave another $7,000; his son Kyriakos, who gave $3,500; and his daughter Chrysanthy Demos, who gave $7,000. Ronald Bloom, who founded a Beverly Hills-based industry real estate and property management company and is on the board of directors for the Republican Jewish Coalition, gave $7,000 to the campaign and his wife Lois Bloom gave $3,500.
The Eureka Political Action Committee — sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, a Republican who represents parts of the Inland Empire — gave $10,000 to McClintock for this election, as did the Support Taxfighters and Elect Effective Leaders Political Action Committee and the Majority Committee Political Action Committee, two other conservative PACs. The Pechanga Band of Mission Indians and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians each gave $3,500 to McClintock**, along with** many other individuals and organizations.
The largest share of donations to Masuda came through ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising platform. More than $256,000 was given to Masuda’s campaign through ActBlue. Most individual contributions to Masuda were $100 or less.
Who else is supporting the candidates?
Masuda has received endorsements from the California Teachers Association, the California Democratic Party and the North Valley Labor Federation.
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McClintock is endorsed by Trump and the California Republican Party.