Nanette Barragán
Nanette Barragán, a Democrat who has represented California's 44th congressional district since 2017 and chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, faces Republican healthcare executive Genevieve Angel in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Nanette Barragán.
- Born
- September 15, 1976
- Birthplace
- Harbor City, Los Angeles
- Education
- North Torrance High School
University of California, Los Angeles (Bachelor of Arts in political science, 2000)
University of Southern California (Juris Doctor, 2005)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Nanette Barragán was born on September 15, 1976, in Harbor City, Los Angeles, the youngest of 11 siblings, and was raised by immigrants from Mexico in Torrance and the surrounding area.
She attended North Torrance High School, earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with a minor in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2000, and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California in 2005.
During college and until 2003 she was executive director of the Gillian S. Fuller Foundation, which funded nonprofits focused on education, the environment and youth programs.
Her early political work included African American outreach in the Clinton White House Office of Public Liaison and, in 1999, health policy work with the NAACP's Washington Bureau.
Career
After externships at the California Supreme Court, the Los Angeles Legal Aid Foundation and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Nanette Barragán joined Latham & Watkins LLP, where she worked on cases ranging from land use to securities litigation.
In 2012 she took a leave of absence to work with the voter protection team of Barack Obama's reelection campaign in Florida. She was elected to the Hermosa Beach City Council in 2013, becoming the first Latina elected to the council, and resigned on July 31, 2015, to run for Congress.
Barragán won the 44th district seat vacated by Democrat Janice Hahn in the November 8, 2016, general election, defeating state senator Isadore Hall III. She was reelected in 2018 over Compton mayor Aja Brown with 68.3% of the vote and in 2020 over fellow Democrat Analilia Joya with 67.8%. She assumed leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in January 2023, and for the 119th Congress she serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
2026 race
Nanette Barragán is the Democratic incumbent in the 2026 election for California's 44th congressional district, having been re-elected with 71.4% of the vote in 2024. In the top-two primary she finished first with 77.01% of the vote, and Republican Genevieve Angel, a healthcare executive, placed second with 22.98%. Barragán and Angel face each other in the general election on November 3, 2026.