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The race for a successor to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore) is starting to take shape months ahead of the upcoming primary election, with Matt Ortega’s campaign now roaring after he launched his bid for the seat last month.
Ortega announced his run for office in a Dec. 17 press release, outlining a platform aimed at ushering in “a future we can afford.”
“I am not new to this fight,” Ortega said in his campaign announcement. “I’ve spent my career improving the lives of working people by fighting for better health care, support for teachers and schools, a cleaner environment, the rights of vulnerable communities, and freedom for all.”
In addition to his longstanding commitment to affordability for the working class, Ortega is touting his roots as an East Bay native and graduate of San Ramon Valley High School as a key factor he will bring to the table should he be elected to the District 14 seat that represents Pleasanton, Livermore, a majority of Dublin, and southeastern Alameda County communities including Hayward.
Ortega also pointed to his status as a union member, renter, and small business owner as factors that will inform his priorities if elected.
“My family was able to afford a Hayward home on one income,” Ortega said. “Yet for families like ours, home ownership is out of reach today.”
Other challenges that Ortega is highlighting in his platform include rising healthcare costs, energy and grocery bills, and childcare, all areas that have been impacted by federal budget cuts under the second Trump administration.
“Right now, the urgency of the moment could not be clearer,” Ortega said. “The administration’s knee is on our neck while the powerful pick our pockets. It declares our struggles a ‘hoax’ as it disappears people off the street by masked agents. This administration is enabled by partisans in judicial robes and legislative cowards. A Republican majority too weak to uphold its oath is too weak to deliver for the American people.”
Ortega is joining fellow Democrats Melissa Hernandez and Abrar Qadir in his bid for the seat that Swalwell is departing after more than a decade as he campaigns for governor. The three candidates are set to face off for their party’s nomination in the upcoming primary. So far only one Republican, Wendy Huang, is campaigning for the seat.
“The wreckage of this administration requires a new direction for a new time,” Ortega said. “We can’t afford the status quo. Something different must take its place. This great struggle rests upon a bold vision for the American people and I intend to offer it.”
For more information about Ortega’s campaign, visit mattortega.com.
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