Congresswoman Julia Brownley will not seek reelection in 2026
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Congresswoman Julia Brownley announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection in 2026.
Congresswoman Brownley was first elected in 2012 and currently serves as the Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health as well as a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural Resources.
"Serving our community and our country has been the honor of my lifetime," explained Congresswoman Brownley in a statement Thursday. "Every step of this journey has been shaped by the people I represent, by their resilience, their determination, and their belief that government can and should work for the common good. Together, we have expanded access to affordable health care, strengthened support for veterans and their families, protected our natural resources, confronted the climate crisis, and fought for working families. We have helped thousands of constituents navigate the federal government, returned millions in earned benefits, and never lost sight of the simple truth that public service is about showing up for people when they need help the most.
She will serve the remainder of her current term after winning 56 percent of the vote in the last election cycle.
"With another year remaining in my term, I will continue working every day to deliver results for our region, advance legislation that improves the lives and livelihoods of people in my district and across our country, and stand up for the values and priorities my constituents sent me here to defend."
Brownley is mother to two children, Hannah and Fred, and a grandmother who worked in marketing before joining Congress. She currently lives in Thousand Oaks and has a B.A. in Political Science from George Washington University and a M.B.A. from American University.
California's 26th Congressional District largely contains most of Ventura County and includes the cities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Calabasses, and Agoura Hills.
While her term in Congress is coming to a conclusion, she shared her belief about the future of the nation in closing Thursday's announcement.
"Despite the immense challenges we are currently facing, I remain deeply optimistic about the future of our country. The American experiment has endured not because it is perfect, but because generations of Americans continue to believe in it and work to make it more just, more equal, and more reflective of those it serves. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to have played a part in that work, and I know we will learn from this moment in time how to shore up our democracy to make it even stronger for the generations that will follow."
