Stephen Houlahan
Stephen Houlahan (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 48th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Stephen Houlahan lives in Santee, California.[1] Houlahan earned a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University in 1998 and a graduate degree from the University of San Diego in 2003.[2] His career experience includes working as a nurse.[1][3]
Elections
2024
See also: California's 48th Congressional District election, 2024
California's 48th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 48
Incumbent Darrell Issa defeated Stephen Houlahan in the general election for U.S. House California District 48 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Darrell Issa (R) | 59.3 | 213,625 | |
| Stephen Houlahan (D) | 40.7 | 146,665 | ||
| Total votes: 360,290 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 48
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 48 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Darrell Issa (R) | 62.4 | 111,510 | |
| ✔ | Stephen Houlahan (D) | 14.9 | 26,601 | |
| Whitney Shanahan (D) | 12.2 | 21,819 | ||
| Mike Simon (D) | 7.2 | 12,950 | ||
| Matthew Rascon (D) | 2.2 | 3,988 | ||
| Lucinda Jahn (No party preference) | 1.1 | 1,959 | ||
| Total votes: 178,827 | ||||
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Endorsements
2022
See also: California's 48th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 48
Incumbent Darrell Issa defeated Stephen Houlahan in the general election for U.S. House California District 48 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Darrell Issa (R) | 60.4 | 155,171 | |
| Stephen Houlahan (D) | 39.6 | 101,900 | ||
| Total votes: 257,071 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 48
Incumbent Darrell Issa and Stephen Houlahan defeated Matthew Rascon and Lucinda Jahn in the primary for U.S. House California District 48 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Darrell Issa (R) | 61.5 | 101,280 | |
| ✔ | Stephen Houlahan (D) | 27.8 | 45,740 | |
| Matthew Rascon (D) | 9.1 | 14,983 | ||
| Lucinda Jahn (Independent) | 1.6 | 2,614 | ||
| Total votes: 164,617 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Chris Balasinski (Independent)
- Harley Rouda (D)
- Mari Barosay (D)
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Stephen Houlahan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Houlahan’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
This Election is About Our Freedom
I am the pro-choice, pro-freedom candidate. Women's Reproductive Freedom The Supreme Court Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v Wade undermines a women's right to make her own reproductive choices. As a registered nurse of over 25 years, I know this is healthcare being taken away from women, and this is a dangerous overreach that affects us all. Election Integrity I believe that life’s quality improves when people can engage in the decisions that impact their lives. That’s why we need to make it easier to legally vote, not harder. California can set the example for the rest of the country: we already have same-day voter registration, and most counties already allow early voting. Energy and Climate The US subsidizes fossil fuels to the tune of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars every year. This subsidy comes out of your pockets and goes straight into the pockets of fossil fuel CEOs and shareholders. Global gas prices are soaring even as the market is moving away from fossil fuels – the price of solar and wind power is dropping every day, and if we don’t jump on this train, it’s going to leave without us (with China at the helm). California can be the global leader in solar energy. Early investments here can lead to huge returns. As a clean energy champion, I led the way to establish Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in California’s 48th. As a result, schools, businesses, and residences have made big investments in clean solar energy. Wildfires are too often started by power lines igniting the surrounding vegetation, resulting in billions of dollars in property damage, with ratepayers left footing the bill. It is time to rebuild our energy grid, including undergrounding of power lines to protect our precious backcountry. Healthcare Medicare and Medikid As your congressman, I will make sure our Medicare safety net is funded, and work to expand Medicare to 55+, streamlining healthcare for the folks who are most likely to use it. I will also propose “Medikid” to help cover the more than 4 Million uninsured children in our country. Big Pharma Big Pharma is placing a huge burden on millions of Americans every year who can't afford their necessary medications. I know, because my own medicine cost $42,000 per year. As your congressman, I will stand up to Big Pharma and make sure every American can access the medication they need.[4] |
” |
| —Stephen Houlahan’s campaign website (2024)[5] | ||
2022
Stephen Houlahan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Houlahan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Stephen lives and breathes California's 48th congressional district. Raised in Santee, he has traveled the U.S. as a nurse, catching sight of the Rockies and vast beauty of Alaska, but always returned home to the Golden State. Raised by a hardworking single mom, Stephen knows what families in California are going through. His mom worked two jobs to make ends meet, while Stephen slept in the family living room and helped raise his younger sister. Working since he was 13 years old, Stephen is full of grit and determination. He attended the University of San Diego, earning both a Masters in Nursing and an MBA. He went on to serve his neighbors on the City Council and as Vice Mayor. Working across party lines with four Republicans as the lone Democrat, he stopped a power plant and pipeline from threatening the air and water quality in his community and the health of his neighbors. He has protected his community from corruption by fighting for and passing term limits and took on the entire council to call for inclusionary housing policies in the face of corporate development. Before serving on the frontlines of COVID, Stephen ensured that emergency responders were paid a fair wage and had the resources they needed to do their jobs. Dismayed and angry about the
mismanagement of the COVID crisis and the failures of elected officials — Stephen is running to protect his family, friends, and neighbors.- COVID-19 National Recovery- COVID-19 is personal for me. In the early days of the pandemic, I was called by the ICU to help triage patients and prepare for crisis standards of care. The possibility of my decisions impacting who got critical care and who didn’t is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. COVID-19 moved fast; our response must be faster. We need to do a number of things to make sure California and the country get out of COVID stronger than ever before: Make sure everyone who wants to be vaccinated is able to. California is one of the most vaccinated states, and because of that, we have some of the lowest infection and mortality rates from COVID in the country.
- Healthcare- The US spends the most money per capita on healthcare in the world, but we rank among the lowest when it comes to health outcomes. I know how painfully inefficient our healthcare system is – I work in it every single day. Medicare and Medikid As your congressman, I will expand medicare to 55+, streamlining healthcare for the folks who are most likely to use it. I will also propose “Medikid” to help cover the more than 4 Million uninsured children in our country. Big Pharma Big Pharma is placing a huge burden on millions of Americans every year. I know, because my own medicine cost $42,000 per year. As your congressman, I will stand up to Big Pharma and make sure every American can access the medication they need.
- Energy and Climate- The US subsidizes fossil fuels to the tune of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars every year. This subsidy comes out of your pockets and goes straight into the pockets of fossil fuel CEOs and shareholders. Meanwhile, the market is moving away from fossil fuels – coal fired power plants are closing left and right, the price of solar and wind power is dropping every day, and if we don’t jump on this train, it’s going to leave without us (with China at the helm). California can be the global leader in solar energy. Early investments here can lead to huge returns. As a clean energy champion, I led the way to establish Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in California’s 48th.
The United States of America is the birthplace of modern democracy. We believe that everyone deserves the right to vote and to participate in our democracy. That is why as your congressman, I will do whatever it takes to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
I believe that life’s quality improves when people can engage in the decisions that impact their lives. That’s why we need to make it easier to vote, not harder. We need to make sure that partisan gerrymandering stops and we don’t keep ending up with districts that look like this in order to cut out entire populations.
California can set the example for the rest of the country: we already have same-day voter registration, and most counties already allow early voting.
Fighting Corruption
None of the policy priorities we have listed above are attainable if we don’t tackle corruption head on. That is why as your congressman, I will advance a 3-step plan to fight corruption:
1.Build strong and enduring institutions
2.Provide transparency of government finances
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Note: Houlahan submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on April 6, 2022.
Campaign website
Houlahan's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
COVID-19 National Recovery COVID-19 is personal for me. In the early days of the pandemic, I was called by the ICU to help triage patients and prepare for crisis standards of care. The possibility of my decisions impacting who got critical care and who didn’t is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. COVID-19 moved fast; our response must be faster. We need to do a number of things to make sure California and the country get out of COVID stronger than ever before:
The US spends the most money per capita on healthcare in the world, but we rank among the lowest when it comes to health outcomes. I know how painfully inefficient our healthcare system is – I work in it every single day. Medicare and Medikid As your congressman, I will expand medicare to 55+, streamlining healthcare for the folks who are most likely to use it. I will also propose “Medikid” to help cover the more than 4 Million uninsured children in our country. Big Pharma Big Pharma is placing a huge burden on millions of Americans every year. I know, because my own medicine cost $42,000 per year. As your congressman, I will stand up to Big Pharma and make sure every American can access the medication they need. COVID-19 moved fast; our response must be faster. We need to do a number of things to make sure California and the country get out of COVID stronger than ever before:
The US subsidizes fossil fuels to the tune of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars every year. This subsidy comes out of your pockets and goes straight into the pockets of fossil fuel CEOs and shareholders. Meanwhile, the market is moving away from fossil fuels – coal fired power plants are closing left and right, the price of solar and wind power is dropping every day, and if we don’t jump on this train, it’s going to leave without us (with China at the helm). California can be the global leader in solar energy. Early investments here can lead to huge returns. As a clean energy champion, I led the way to establish Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) in California’s 48th. As a result, schools, businesses, and residences have made big investments in clean solar energy in my hometown of Santee, CA, and divested the community from dirty fossil fuel energy. We must also upgrade our power grid and move our power lines underground. Wildfires are too often started by power lines igniting the surrounding vegetation, resulting in billions of dollars in property damage, with ratepayers left footing the bill. It is time to rebuild our energy grid, including undergrounding of power lines to protect our precious backcountry.
The United States of America is the birthplace of modern democracy. We believe that everyone deserves the right to vote and to participate in our democracy. That is why as your congressman, I will do whatever it takes to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. I believe that life’s quality improves when people can engage in the decisions that impact their lives. That’s why we need to make it easier to vote, not harder. We need to make sure that partisan gerrymandering stops and we don’t keep ending up with districts that look like this in order to cut out entire populations. California can set the example for the rest of the country: we already have same-day voter registration, and most counties already allow early voting. Fighting Corruption None of the policy priorities we have listed above are attainable if we don’t tackle corruption head on. That is why as your congressman, I will advance a 3-step plan to fight corruption: 1.Build strong and enduring institutions 2.Provide transparency of government finances 3.Bring integrity to Congress’s payment structures
The Trump Administration took multiple actions to invite discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in housing, health care, education and in the workplace. Because there is no federal anti-discrimination law, LGBTQ+ people and families can still be denied access to work, housing, health care, and education in 29 states. That is why we need to pass the Equality Act. Not only will it protect the LGBTQ+ members of our community, it will also expand protections for women, people of color, and religious individuals.[4] |
” |
| —Stephen Houlahan's campaign website (2022)[6] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House California District 48 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stephen Houlahan for Congress, "Home," accessed May 28, 2022
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 6, 2022
- ↑ Twitter, "Stephen Houlahan for Congress (CA-48)," accessed May 28, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Stephen Houlahan, “Issues,” accessed January 28, 2024
- ↑ Stephen Houlahan for Congress, “On The Issues,” accessed May 23, 2022
