Mike Levin
Mike Levin, a Democrat who has represented California's 49th congressional district in the U.S. House since 2019, faces Republican Armen Kurdian, a retired Navy captain, in his 2026 re-election race.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Mike Levin.
- Born
- October 20, 1978
- Birthplace
- Inglewood, California
- Education
- Loyola High School (1997)
Stanford University (Bachelor of Arts, 2001)
Duke University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 2005)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Mike Levin was born on October 20, 1978, in Inglewood, California, and raised in Lake Forest in Orange County.
His mother is Mexican-American and his father is Jewish; his maternal grandparents came to the United States from Mexico as children and later ran a business distributing Wurlitzer jukeboxes in Los Angeles.
Levin graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles in 1997 and from Stanford University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts, having been elected student body president there.
After serving as a Coro Fellow, he earned a Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 2005, focusing on environmental law.
Career
Levin worked as an attorney in energy and environmental law, co-founded the trade group CleanTech OC, and served as director of government affairs at FuelCell Energy from 2014 to 2017. He was also executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County.
In 2018 he ran for the open 49th district seat after Republican Darrell Issa announced his retirement, finished second to Republican Diane Harkey in the June 5 primary, and won the general election with 56.4%.
Levin was re-elected in 2020 and 2022 over Republican Brian Maryott and in 2024 over Republican Matt Gunderson, 52.2% to 47.8%.
In Congress he chaired the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity during the 116th and 117th Congresses and co-founded the bipartisan Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus in 2021 with Rodney Davis of Illinois. In the 119th Congress he sits on the Committee on Appropriations.
2026 race
Mike Levin is the incumbent in California's 49th congressional district, which he held in 2024 with 52.2% of the vote.
In the top-two primary he finished first with 55.85%, and Republican Armen Kurdian, a retired Navy captain, placed second with 26.10%, ahead of Republican columnist Star Parker with 18.04%.
San Diego County supervisor Jim Desmond had entered the Republican field and then withdrew to run in the 48th district. Levin and Kurdian meet in the general election on November 3, 2026.