Ted Lieu
Ted Lieu, a Democrat who has represented California's 36th congressional district since 2023 and is vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, faces Republican technology executive Houston Brignano for re-election in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Ted Lieu.
- Born
- March 29, 1969
- Birthplace
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Education
- Saint Ignatius High School (1987)
Stanford University (BSc in computer science and BA in political science, 1991)
Georgetown University Law Center (Juris Doctor, 1994)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Ted Lieu was born on March 29, 1969, in Taipei, Taiwan, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was three years old, settling in Cleveland, Ohio.
He graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in 1987 and from Stanford University in 1991 with a BSc in computer science and a BA in political science.
He then attended the Georgetown University Law Center, where he became editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal, and earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 1994. After law school he clerked for Judge Thomas Tang of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1994 to 1995.
Career
Lieu joined the United States Air Force in 1995 and served four years on active duty in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, then served in the Air Force Reserve from 2000 to 2021, reaching the rank of colonel in 2015.
He was elected to the Torrance City Council in 2002, won a September 13, 2005, special election for the 53rd State Assembly district and was re-elected in 2006 and 2008.
After finishing fourth in the 2010 Democratic primary for California attorney general, he won a February 15, 2011, special election for the 28th State Senate district.
In 2014 Lieu ran for the 33rd congressional district, formerly held by the retiring Henry Waxman, and defeated Republican Elan Carr in the general election. He represented the 33rd district from 2015 to 2023 and has represented the 36th since 2023.
Lieu was named an impeachment manager for the second impeachment trial of President Trump in January 2021, and he has been vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus since 2023. In the 118th Congress he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary.
2026 race
Ted Lieu is seeking re-election in California's 36th congressional district, which he won in 2024 with 68.7% of the vote. He led the top-two primary with 60.94% of the vote, and Republican Houston Brignano, a technology executive, took second place with 15.28%, ahead of Republican investigative journalist Melissa Toomim with 13.06%. Lieu and Brignano face each other in the general election on November 3, 2026.