Mike Levin

Rep. Mike Levin, 47, a Democratic congressman, is running for re-election to Congress representing coastal North County and southern Orange County in California’s 49th Congressional District.

An Orange County native, Levin grew up in Lake Forest and lives in San Juan Capistrano. He’s now seeking a fifth term in office.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Levin and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Levin said he did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)

I’m running to continue my work to bring down costs, protect our coast and environment and hold the Trump administration accountable. Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve always put people ahead of politics and stood up for the rule of law and our democracy.

I’ve fought to reduce prescription drug prices and healthcare costs as Washington Republicans increase them. I’ve passed 35 bills to improve the lives of my constituents, including two dozen bipartisan bills to support our veterans.

I’ve stood up to President Trump’s attacks on immigrants and refused to provide more funding for ICE unless the agency is reined in and made to follow the same rules as local law enforcement. I’ve also called out Trump’s corruption and erosion of our democracy.

I’ve secured over $1 billion for our district to improve transportation infrastructure, put sand on beaches, improve our firefighting capabilities, support public schools and much more.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district? (150 words max)

The top issue in our district — and across the country — is the rising cost of living. I’m fighting in Congress now to bring down costs, and that effort will remain my top priority after the election.

Our district and region continue to struggle to house all residents. One homeless neighbor is one too many. I’ve been particularly focused on helping our homeless veterans get off the street by expanding eligibility for veterans’ housing vouchers and fighting to ensure every voucher is used.

Finally, our district’s beautiful coastline presents many unique challenges. The Trump administration threatens us with offshore drilling, beaches are eroding and millions of pounds of nuclear waste sit on the beach at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. I’ve introduced legislation to block new offshore drilling, I’ve delivered funding to build up and preserve our beaches and I’m advancing plans to move the nuclear waste off the coast.

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in your first/next term in Congress? (150 words max)

First and foremost, we must bring down the cost of energy, housing, healthcare, groceries and more. I’m working on legislation — the Energy Bills Relief Act — to reduce electricity costs by prioritizing those of us paying the bills before energy companies’ profits. Congress must also restore the tax credits that reduce costs across the healthcare system for all of us.

Second, we need to return the focus to our challenges here at home. We should not be spending billions of dollars on military interventions in Venezuela and Iran while the administration claims there isn’t enough money to improve our healthcare system.

Third, we must clean up the culture of corruption in Washington. We need to ban corporate PACs, end stock trading by members of Congress and outlaw insider trading in prediction markets. My campaign doesn’t take a dime of corporate PAC money, and I don’t own individual stocks.

4) If your party wins control of Congress, what should be its first priority? If your party loses control of Congress, what should be its first priority? (100 words max)

When Democrats retake the House majority, the first priority will be the same as mine: bringing down costs.

I’ll push to pass my Energy Bills Relief Act, which incentivizes utilities to save you money, ensures you don’t subsidize data centers and modernizes our electric grid so that we can build more low-cost, clean energy. More energy means lower prices for you.

We’ll pass legislation restoring the tax credits that helped millions afford insurance on Covered California and reduced healthcare bills for everyone. We’ll undo the gutting of Medicaid and stop the looming cuts to Medicare that Washington Republicans supported.

5) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. What impact have these had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them if elected? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants? (150 words max)

President Trump’s mass deportation campaign is illegal and immoral, and it contradicts our American values. We’ve seen random community members swept up throughout our district. Notable incidents include arrests near a school in Encinitas, agents shattering the windows of an Oceanside home during an early morning raid and detentions of ride-share drivers near Camp Pendleton.

These arrests aren’t designed to make residents safer. They’re an attempt to meet an arbitrary 3,000 daily arrests goal set by the White House.

Not only is this policy cruel, it’s also failing. A recent Union-Tribune investigation found that judges released nearly all the drivers detained at the Camp Pendleton gate who challenged their arrests in court.

We can have a humane immigration system and a secure border. That’s why I’ve fought to pass the Dignity Act, bipartisan legislation that would create a path to legal status for law-abiding immigrants while investing in border security.

6) It’s been nearly two months since the United States began a war with Iran. Do you believe Americans are better or worse off for it? What should Congress’s role be? Would you vote to let the president continue the war beyond the 60 days after which congressional authorization is required? (150 words max)

Donald Trump’s war with Iran has driven up energy prices and made us less secure. It has been ill-planned, not to mention illegal. He did not adequately prepare for Iran’s retaliation against the global energy market, and he clearly had no plan for an endgame to the conflict.

You are paying higher gas prices because of Trump’s decision to engage in this war.

Congress must reassert its constitutional authority to decide when our country goes to war. I’ve repeatedly voted for war powers resolutions directing Trump to end the conflict. Washington Republicans have blocked them and let the administration pursue the war as prices continue to rise.

7) Recent jumps in the cost of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are squeezing residents already struggling with San Diego County’s high costs of living. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

As President Trump and Washington Republicans see prices increasing, they’ve decided to make the problem worse by cutting healthcare programs, SNAP and energy projects. I vocally opposed them, and I support legislation to restore healthcare and food programs.

These cuts hurt all of us. I hear stories not only from constituents who can no longer afford their health insurance but also from those whose coverage has gone up by tens of thousands of dollars. Healthcare cuts leave you making up the difference in your insurance premiums and copayments.

As the war in Iran drives up gas prices, Trump is paying companies over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to STOP building wind energy projects. More cheap energy on the market would drive down prices — but the administration is prioritizing its fossil fuel donors over your pocketbook. I’m strongly opposed to this policy, and I’m putting forward legislation that would block it.

8) Like much of California, this district has been affected by the effects of climate change. How should Congress mitigate those impacts, and what would you do to pursue such efforts? (100 words max)

I first ran for Congress as a clean energy advocate because I believe we must act to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

I’ve fought to end fossil fuel subsidies and pass the biggest climate bill in American history — the Inflation Reduction Act — which accelerated clean energy and electric vehicle deployment. Now, I’m fighting for legislation to reduce your electricity bills while cutting emissions.

To adapt to climate change impacts, I’ve secured millions to restore Encinitas and Solana Beach beaches, funded a new wildfire fighting helicopter and improved the desalination plant in Carlsbad to secure your water supply.

9) Polling underscores that one chief concern of California voters in the 2026 midterm elections is the issue of threats to democracy. What do you believe are the greatest threats to American democracy? How would you, and how should Congress, protect against these? (100 words max)

The greatest threat to our democracy is Donald Trump’s willingness to ignore the law and courts while his MAGA allies in Congress refuse to stand up to him. Trump’s recent efforts to seize ballots in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia also indicate he’s willing to use federal power to influence elections.

Leaders, regardless of political party, have a responsibility to call these actions what they are — a blatant disregard for our Constitution and democracy. I have and will continue to do so. I’ve also long supported the Protecting Our Democracy Act, to make clear that no president is above the law.

10) Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (100 words max)

I’m among those leading the effort to ban congressional stock trading. I don’t own or trade individual stocks.

Elected officials are entrusted to act in the public’s interest. We vote on legislation that impacts individual business sectors. Members’ decisions must be solely about what’s best for our constituents, not what’s best for anyone’s own portfolio.

That’s why I’ve worked with bipartisan colleagues to propose the Restore Trust in Congress Act to ban members of Congress and their families from owning or trading individual stocks, securities, commodities or futures, while imposing significant fines and the forfeit of profits for breaking the law.

11) By design Congress is supposed to serve as a check on the executive branch through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe that Congress has fulfilled that obligation in recent years? Why or why not? Should Congress do more to hold the president accountable? Explain. (150 words max)

No, I think that congressional leaders over the decades have been too willing to cede Congress’s constitutional responsibilities to administrations of both parties. This is a failure of our elected leaders. Our country’s founders thought that congressional leaders would want to protect their own power from future presidents — but that’s no longer the case when the president is from leaders’ own party.

While we’ve seen this under both parties, it’s been most blatant under the second Trump administration. Congressional Republicans have been willing to let President Trump unilaterally change government spending laws — like rescinding life-saving healthcare research — passed in bills Republicans wrote. They’ve let him break requirements in codified law — like releasing the Epstein files — that they supported overwhelmingly. They’ve let him attempt regime change in Iran and Venezuela, after campaigning to put an end to wars abroad.

That’s a rubber stamp, not a check on power.

12) A recent San Diego Union-Tribune poll found voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, by higher margins than they disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why do you think this is? How can Congress win back voters’ hope and trust, and what would you personally do to achieve this? (150 words max)

Voters are sick of gridlock and corruption. They want honest representatives who are clearly fighting for their constituents and want to make real progress on everyday issues, like the cost of living.

I strive to do this while never losing sight of my principles. I’ve passed 35 bills into law, primarily focused on supporting our veterans. Nearly all of these bills were bipartisan.

Congress can start to win back trust by banning stock trading by members of Congress. A stock trading ban will show that members of Congress represent the public rather than themselves.

The effort goes hand in hand with my top priority legislation to bring down the cost of healthcare, housing, energy and food.