John Duarte

Replacing:

Barbara Lee (D)[i]

WORK HISTORY:

Duarte Nursery (Co-Founder / Owner); Farmer[ii] [iii]

Education:

BA, San Diego State University; MBA, University of the Pacific – Stockton[iv]

Campaigned On:

You Deserve Gas, Housing & Food That You Can Afford; You Deserve Water for You, Our Farms & Our Jobs; You Deserve to Feel Safe in Your Neighborhood; You Deserve a Good-Paying Job; Our Kids Deserve a Great Education[v]

On the Issues

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Duarte is a self-described “moderate” on abortion and believes women should have “access” to abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.[vi] He would not support a national abortion ban nor any effort to codify abortion rights into federal law.[vii] [viii] He earned the endorsements of Californians for Life, a group that wants to end the practice of abortion in California, even in cases of rape or incest.[ix] [x]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

Duarte listed lowering the cost of living as one of his top priorities during the campaign and has blamed “out-of-touch career politicians” for rising prices.[xi] [xii] He has criticized the Inflation Reduction Act as a “very socialist” program.[xiii] In Congress, Duarte would vote to suspend the gas tax and cut fuel and food prices.[xiv] Duarte has also said the federal government must deal with the economic challenges that are prompting more people to use drugs or experience mental health issues that lead to homelessness.[xv]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Duarte wants to make sure every American has access to high quality, including those with pre-existing conditions. He has called for expanding rural healthcare options and “strongly supports honoring our Medicare commitments.”[xvi] Duarte also supports expanding telehealth services and tax-free Health Savings Accounts that allow individuals to set aside money for future healthcare needs.[xvii]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

Duarte named securing the border as one of the main reasons he chose to run for Congress.[xviii] Notably, he called Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to fly migrants from his state to more Democratic-leaning areas of the country a “creative” solution to address immigration. Duarte noted that it “is or isn’t what I would do, but I certainly don’t blame them for trying something different” to fill what he called a “leadership vacuum” among national Democrats on the issue, including President Biden.[xix]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

Duarte opposes the “Defund the Police” movement.[xx]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

Duarte does not believe former President Trump bears responsibility for the January 6 attack on the Capitol.[xxi] In August 2022, Duarte signed the Term Limits Pledge, signaling his support for a Constitutional amendment to implement term limits for members of Congress.[xxii]

EDUCATION:

Duarte supports school choice.[xxiii] He has called the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan a “giant giveaway to an elite class of folks,” arguing its sole purpose was to “pass out a freebie to a bunch of Democrat voting constituencies to see if they’d turn out in the polls.”[xxiv] In Congress, he will work to “get schools back to basics and make sure that every student has the support they need in the classroom.”[xxv]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Duarte believes the US has “done its share for green energy” and argues that until the rest of the world catches up, “American cannot allow ourselves to become less competitive, pursuing green energy fantasies on the backs of working families.”[xxvi] Notably, Duarte was found to have violated the Clean Water Act by damaging wetlands to plant wheat in Northern California and paid a $1.1 million fine.[xxvii] During the campaign, he also erroneously said “several leftist activists” had been arrested for setting wildfires in the Sierra Nevada “in order to draw attention to global warming.”[xxviii]

GUN SAFETY:

Duarte supports Second Amendment rights but would be open to some new gun regulations, including making certain semiautomatic weapons unavailable to young adults.[xxix] He has also said we need to “look” at background checks and mental health “a lot more seriously” when it comes to firearms.[xxx] He praised a June 2022 US Supreme Court ruling upholding the rights of gun owners to carry loaded weapons in public.[xxxi] [xxxii] The NRA gave Duarte an “AQ” rating in 2022, but the organization did not endorse his candidacy.[xxxiii] FOREIGN POLICY: Duarte believes the US has “appropriately resourced” Ukraine with weapons in its conflict with Russia.