U.S. Congressional District 24 spans from Ventura in the south to Cayucos in the north.
Democrat Salud Carbajal is the incumbent, being challenged by Republican Thomas Cole.
KSBY News reporter Karson Wells spoke with both candidates about their platforms.
"I am accessible," Rep. Carbajal said. "I've had nine town hall meetings, and I am fighting for them and will continue to fight for them and to lower costs that they are facing each and every day, whether it is housing, health care, childcare, all of those issues that are affecting their daily quality of life."
Carbajal says he is proud of the work he and his team have done so far and hopes to continue it, adding that he will continue to work on passing legislation to address climate change, protect women's reproductive rights, and address the costs of housing and childcare.
"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that has brought in over $1 billion to the Central Coast to address our infrastructure and to improve people's quality of life creating over 13,000 jobs," Carbajal said.
Cole says he’s focused on three main issues.
"We're just peace, parents and borders," Cole said. "So that means peace, no proxy wars; parents, which is, we're talking about parents' rights, the rights of parents to have information on their children; and then borders is the third issue. And, of course, this is exploding. Everyone is upset about the borders."
Cole says he feels strongly that parents are involved and in control of their kids' education.
He adds that he is a "peace Republican" and does not support U.S. participation in other countries' wars.
"We're trying to bring this back to America first without being anti-world," Cole said. "We're just saying we can't support the world. And we, as a welfare state, we can't have open borders."
If you are interested in reading more about their campaigns, click the links below:
Thomas Cole: https://www.thomascoleforcongress.com
Salud Carbajal: https://www.saludcarbajal.com/contact
