Pete Aguilar
Pete Aguilar, a Democrat who has represented California in the U.S. House since 2015 and chairs the House Democratic Caucus, faces Republican Stephanie Vargas, a former Colton chief deputy city clerk, for the 33rd district in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Pete Aguilar.
- Born
- June 19, 1979
- Birthplace
- Fontana, California
- Education
- University of Redlands (government and business administration)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Pete Aguilar was born on June 19, 1979, in Fontana, California, and grew up in a working-class family in San Bernardino. He is of Mexican descent. Aguilar graduated from the University of Redlands, where he studied government and business administration.
Career
Aguilar's public service career began in 2001, when Governor Gray Davis appointed him deputy director of the governor's Inland Empire Regional Office, and he eventually became its interim director.
In 2006 the Redlands City Council picked him from 11 candidates to fill an open seat, making him the youngest member of the council in the city's history, and he was elected a year later.
His fellow council members appointed him mayor in 2010 and again in 2012, and he served as mayor and councilman until December 2014.
Aguilar first ran for California's 31st congressional district in 2012, finishing as the top Democratic vote-getter with 22.6% of the vote, behind two Republicans who advanced to the general election.
He won the seat in 2014, defeating Republican Paul Chabot with 51.4% of the vote, and was re-elected in 2016, 2018 and 2020. Redistricting after the 2020 census placed him in the new 33rd district, where he won re-election in 2022 and 2024.
Speaker Pelosi appointed him in 2021 to the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
He became vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus in the 117th Congress and has chaired the caucus since 2023, and in the 118th and 119th Congresses he serves on the Committee on Appropriations.
2026 race
Pete Aguilar is seeking re-election in California's 33rd congressional district, which he won in 2024 with 58.8% of the vote. In the top-two primary he led the field with 53.54% of the vote, and Republican Stephanie Vargas, a former chief deputy city clerk of Colton, advanced in second place with 17.51%, ahead of Republican pastor Tom Herman at 11.38%. Aguilar faces Vargas in the general election on November 3, 2026.