Bob Smith of Carpinteria announces candidacy for 24th Congressional District Monday
CENTRAL COAST REGION, Calif. – On Monday, retired U.S. Navy officer and Senior Engineering Fellow at a Washington D.C.-based defense contractor, Bob Smith announced his candidacy for the 24th Congressional District.
According to Smith, he will be meeting with the Central Committee of the Santa Barbara County Republican Party during their General Meeting on Wednesday, April 16 to secure a potential endorsement of his candidacy.
Smith, his wife Adriana, and his son Joaquin have lived in Carpinteria for over a decade and Smith cited an interest in continuing to serve his country, plans to heal the nation's partisan divide, and restore the middle class as reasons for his run in a press release Monday. He also has a daughter, Gabriella, who is a Senior at an out-of-state college.
"All constituents of the 24th District deserve representation," stated Smith in a press release announcing his candidacy. "I will strive for genuine bipartisan solutions. Our incumbent representative has a 100% voting record aligned with Democratic leadership, yet he continuously speaks about bipartisanship. I have yet to hear Representative Carbajal make any substantial statements. He is in his fifth term and leads no committees in Congress. He has only authored one piece of legislation that has become law: changing the name of a post office in Santa Maria. He might be the most ineffective leader to ever serve in Congress."
"Our elected officials here in coastal California almost exclusively serve the interests of the far-left wealthy elites," added Smith. "They pay lip service to blue-collar workers and Latino immigrants while upholding the status quo for the rich elites, private equity firms, and speculators who are buying up all the available properties in the area. They don't want non-elites here, only gardeners and maids. They disregard our schools, sending their children to expensive private institutions. “Not in my backyard” is their battle cry. They oppose growth, affordable housing that could devalue their coastal mansions, and any affordable goods or gasoline, preferring only high-priced electric vehicles while they travel in private jets. These towns were built by middle-class workers, farmers, and Mexican immigrants seeking a better life for their families, not wealthy celebrities. If we fail to improve conditions for the middle class, we risk losing the American Dream and exacerbating the partisan divide."
Smith mentioned his 26 years of service in the U.S. Navy in Monday's announcement -from a junior enlisted sailor to a senior officer- thanks to the Navy's Seaman to Admiral program and is originally from the Philadelphia area noted his campaign website's 'About Bob' section.
Before his service in the armed forces, Smith dropped out of high school to support himself by working full-time as a laborer at a construction company detailed Smith's campaign website.
Smith's campaign website's 'Issues' section highlighted jobs, inflation, federal spending, rising housing costs, low wage growth, healthcare prices, fusion energy, AI-operated weapons systems, and diplomacy with adversarial states as areas of focus for his campaign.
"The 24th District is one of the worst environments for the middle class in America. The middle class is the fabric of our society," argued Smith in his candidacy announcement. "The 24th District now has the second-highest poverty rate in California. The median family income in Santa Barbara County is $107,000, yet the living wage for a family of four here is rated at $151,000. Middle-class families can no longer own a home, pay basic expenses, plan an annual family vacation, save the recommended amount each month for retirement, or save for their children's college. These things are supposed to be the baseline, not luxuries for middle-class Americans."
Smith enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1998 and enrolled in night school to complete his school diploma before joining the Seaman to Admiral program and earning a B.S. in General Engineering Technology from Old Dominion University shared Smith's campaign website.
According to Smith's campaign website, he was commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy in 2006, and went on to earn an M.S. in Systems Engineering form the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California.
Over the course of his career, Smith earned two meritorious service medals, five Navy commendation medals, four Navy achievement medals, and the U.S. Navy's Best Engineer of the Year award in 2023 stated Smith's campaign website.
"It’s time to reclaim our district for the middle class," concluded Smith's announcement Monday. "We must promote home ownership, enhance public schools, and develop a future tech job market in the 24th District while preserving our agriculture and tourism industries."
In response to Monday's announcement, Eduardo Carrizosa, a spokesperson for Congressman Carbajal, issued the following statement: "Congressman Carbajal is focused on doing the job he was elected to do and delivering results for the Central Coast. While the Trump Administration attempts to dismantle vital services for families, veterans, and seniors, Congressman Carbajal is actively defending these programs and working to lower costs for Central Coast residents."
