26th District Candidates take part in forum

OXNARD, Calif. (KEYT) A 26th Congressional District Candidates Forum took place on Friday night in Oxnard.

Voters had a chance to hear from 7 of the 9 candidates running for the seat being vacated by Julie Brownley.

They included Liam Andres O'Neill Hernandez, Michael Koslow, Daniel Miller, Chris Espinosa, Sam Gallucci, Jacqui Irwin and Sonia Kackler.

The League of Women Voters of Ventura County and the Ventura County Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Alumnae hosted the 90-minute event in the Pacifica High School auditorium.

Moderator David Maron asked questions suggested by audience members.

They included questions about health care, ICE, the Iran War, Climate Change, AI and more.

Pat Butler said the local League of Women Voters has grown to more than 300 members.

"Our mission is to empower voters and defend democracy and all of our work is aimed at doing that so we have candidate forums to help educate the voters about the candidates," said Butler.

Lekishia White is the Delta Sigma Theta Chapter President.

"Delta Sigma Theta has been around since 1913, and we have social action at the forefront of what we do, so part of that is making sure that the voters are educated, registered and they have access to the information they need to make an informed vote," said White.

The league will post a link to the forum on you tube at https://m.youtube.com/c/.LWVVenturaCounty.

The 26th District includes most of Ventura County, with the exception of Ventura, and some of Los Angeles County.

Voters get to vote for one candidate in the race.

The top two in the Primary on June 2 will face off in the General Election Nov. 3, 2026.