U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2018 , 2019 On March 8, 2017, Levin announced his candidacy for
California's 49th congressional district. The open seat attracted 16 candidates to the
nonpartisan blanket primary, raising fears that Democrats would be locked out of the general election entirely. In the June 5 primary, Levin came in second to Republican
Diane Harkey and advanced to the general election.
Barack Obama endorsed Levin during the general election campaign. Levin won with 56.4% of the vote, flipping the seat from Republican control.
2020 In the 2020 general election, Levin defeated Republican Brian Maryott with 53.1% of the vote.
2022 Following the 2021 redistricting by the
California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the 49th district's boundaries shifted. In the 2022 general election, Levin again defeated Brian Maryott with 52.6% of the vote.
2024 The
National Republican Congressional Committee named the 49th as one of its top targets nationally. Republican challenger Matt Gunderson, a car dealership owner, positioned himself as a pro-choice Republican, an unusual stance that made the race more competitive in the socially moderate coastal district. On July 12, 2024, Levin became one of approximately 20 congressional Democrats to publicly call for
Joe Biden to withdraw from the
2024 United States presidential election. On election night, Levin led by roughly 19,000 votes, but the margin tightened overnight to approximately 5,000 votes as additional ballots were counted.
2026 In November 2025, California voters approved
Proposition 50, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that temporarily replaced the state's independently drawn congressional maps with new legislature-drawn boundaries for 2026 through 2030. The measure was a response to mid-decade redistricting by the
Texas Legislature that favored Republicans. Under Proposition 50, the 49th district shifted south, adding coastal San Diego communities such as
La Jolla and Torrey Pines, as well as inland North County communities including
Fallbrook and
Bonsall, which had previously been in the
48th district. The proportion of the district in San Diego County increased from approximately 65% to 81%, and its
Cook Partisan Voter Index moved from roughly even to D+4.
Tenure Levin was sworn into the
House of Representatives on January 3, 2019, during a
government shutdown. According to
GovTrack, he has been the primary sponsor of nine enacted bills as of 2025. The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, rated him one of the most effective freshman lawmakers of the 116th Congress and ranked him eighth among all House members on defense and veterans' issues. During his 2024 campaign, Levin stated he had authored more than 30 bipartisan bills signed into law by presidents of both parties and secured over $1 billion in federal funding for his district.
San Onofre nuclear waste The
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), located in Levin's district between
Interstate 5 and the Pacific Ocean, closed in 2012 after radioactive reactor coolant leaked from a steam generator. Approximately 3.6 million pounds of spent nuclear fuel remain stored at the site in stainless steel canisters. Over 8 million people live within 50 miles of the plant, which sits near active earthquake fault lines and is subject to rising sea levels. In August 2018, before Levin took office, a canister loaded with spent nuclear fuel became misaligned while being lowered into an underground storage vault at SONGS. The canister came to rest on the vault's inner ring assembly, unsupported by its lifting equipment, and could have fallen 18 feet if it had slipped further. Workers did not initially realize the canister was stuck; they believed it had been properly seated until a radiation protection technician registered higher-than-expected radiation readings. The
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) subsequently identified multiple safety violations related to the incident, including inadequate training and the lack of redundant drop protection. Upon entering Congress in January 2019, Levin convened a SONGS Task Force of local stakeholders and experts, led by former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko and Rear Admiral Leendert "Len" Hering Sr. (USN, Ret.), to formulate policy recommendations. He led a letter to NRC Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki demanding that a pre-decisional enforcement conference on the SONGS violations be relocated near the site so the public could attend; the NRC declined. In July 2021, Levin co-founded the bipartisan Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus with Rep.
Rodney Davis (R-IL) to address stranded commercial spent fuel across the country. He introduced the Spent Fuel Prioritization Act to rank sites for removal based on population density and seismic hazard, and in 2024 co-authored the bipartisan Nuclear Waste Administration Act with Rep.
August Pfluger (R-TX) to create an independent federal agency for nuclear waste management. As of January 2026, Levin had secured over $248 million in federal funding for the safe removal and management of the nation's spent nuclear fuel.
Veterans' affairs Levin served as the lead Democrat on the
House Veterans' Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, chairing it for four years during the
116th and
117th Congresses. He subsequently introduced and passed the THRIVE Act to update VA job training and education programs, the VENTURE Act, and the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022.
Environment and energy Levin serves as vice chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC). During the 116th Congress, he served on the
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. He voted for the
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. He has introduced legislation to ban new
offshore drilling along the coast of Southern California and to transition the United States to
zero-emission vehicles.
Infrastructure Levin supported the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed with bipartisan support. He pushed for funding from the law to be allocated for a rail tunnel under
Del Mar to relocate the
Pacific Surfliner railway line, which runs along unstable coastal bluffs, with the goal of completing the project by 2035.
Committee assignments Levin's
committee assignments for the
119th Congress include: •
Committee on Appropriations •
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies •
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Previous committee assignments include: •
Natural Resources (116th–118th) •
Veterans' Affairs (116th–118th), including chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity (116th–117th) •
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis (116th–117th)
Caucus memberships •
Congressional Hispanic Caucus •
New Democrat Coalition •
Congressional Progressive Caucus •
Congressional Equality Caucus • Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus (co-founder and co-chair) • Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (vice chair) == Political positions ==