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Alan Lowenthal (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing California's 47th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2013. His current term ends on January 3, 2023.
Lowenthal (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent California's 47th Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
He was first elected to the seat in 2012.From 2012 to 2018, Lowenthal has captured an average of 60 percent of the vote in each general election.
Lowenthal served in the California State Assembly from 1998-2004 and was a member of the Long Beach City Council from 1992-1998. Lowenthal is also a former member of the California State Senate, representing District 27 from 2004 to 2012.[1]
To read about Lowenthal's campaign themes—including jobs, education, Medicare and Social Security, and the environment— click here. To read about his key votes, click here.
Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Lowenthal is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.
Lowenthal has a B.A. from Hobart College and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. He was a professor at California State University-Long Beach in community psychology from 1969 until he retired.
Below is an abbreviated outline of Lowenthal's academic, professional, and political career:[2]
Lowenthal was assigned to the following committees:[Source]
Lowenthal was assigned to the following committees:[Source]
At the beginning of the 115th Congress, Lowenthal was assigned to the following committees:[3]
Lowenthal served on the following committees:[4]
Lowenthal served on the following committees:[5][6]
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lowenthal served on these committees:
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Lowenthal served on these committees:
Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here.
| Key votes (click "show" to expand or "hide" to contract) |
|---|
Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018[edit]
114th Congress[edit]The first session of the 114th Congress enacted into law six out of the 2,616 introduced bills (0.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 1.3 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the first session. In the second session, the 114th Congress enacted 133 out of 3,159 introduced bills (4.2 percent). Comparatively, the 113th Congress had 7.0 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[50][51] For more information pertaining to Lowenthal's voting record in the 114th Congress, please see the below sections.[52] Economic and fiscal[edit]Trade Act of 2015[edit]Trade adjustment assistance Defense spending authorization[edit]
2016 Budget proposal[edit]
2015 budget[edit]
Foreign Affairs[edit]Iran nuclear deal[edit]
Export-Import Bank[edit]
Domestic[edit]USA FREEDOM Act of 2015[edit]
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act[edit]
Cyber security[edit]
Immigration[edit]
113th Congress[edit]The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[93] For more information pertaining to Lowenthal's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[94] National security[edit]NDAA[edit]
DHS Appropriations[edit]
CISPA (2013)[edit]
Economy[edit]Farm bill[edit]
2014 Budget[edit]
Government shutdown[edit]
Federal Pay Adjustment Act[edit]
Immigration[edit]Morton Memos Prohibition[edit]
Healthcare[edit]Healthcare Reform Rules[edit]
Social issues[edit]Abortion[edit]
|
On August 29, 2013, 53 House Democrats signed a letter written by California Rep. Barbara Lee that called for a congressional resolution on strikes and cautioned that the situation in Syria "should not draw us into an unwise war—especially without adhering to our constitutional requirements."[114][115] The letter also called on the Obama administration to work with the U.N. Security Council “to build international consensus” condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons. Lowenthal was one of the 53 Democrats in the House to sign the letter.[114][115]
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score.[116][117]
On the 2009 legislative scorecard, Lowenthal ranked as a 100. He was one of eight state senators the publication identified as voting in what they defined as a "liberal" way in every vote they ranked.[118]
See also: California's 47th Congressional District election, 2020
Incumbent Alan Lowenthal defeated John Briscoe in the general election for U.S. House California District 47 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Alan Lowenthal (D) |
63.3
|
197,028 |
|
|
John Briscoe (R)
|
36.7
|
114,371 | |
| Total votes: 311,399 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 47 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Alan Lowenthal (D) |
45.4
|
72,759 |
| ✔ |
|
John Briscoe (R)
|
16.8
|
27,004 |
|
|
Amy Phan West (R)
|
14.5
|
23,175 | |
|
|
Peter Mathews (D) |
11.0
|
17,616 | |
|
|
Jalen McLeod (D) |
8.7
|
13,955 | |
|
|
Sou Moua (R) |
3.7
|
5,866 | |
| Total votes: 160,375 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Incumbent Alan Lowenthal defeated John Briscoe in the general election for U.S. House California District 47 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Alan Lowenthal (D) |
64.9
|
143,354 |
|
|
John Briscoe (R)
|
35.1
|
77,682 | |
| Total votes: 221,036 (100.00% precincts reporting) |
||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Incumbent Alan Lowenthal and John Briscoe defeated David Clifford in the primary for U.S. House California District 47 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Alan Lowenthal (D) |
60.6
|
70,539 |
| ✔ |
|
John Briscoe (R)
|
21.6
|
25,122 |
|
|
David Clifford (R) |
17.8
|
20,687 | |
| Total votes: 116,348 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Alan Lowenthal (D) defeated Andy Whallon (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Lowenthal and Whallon defeated Sanford Kahn (R) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016.[119][120]
| U.S. House, California District 47 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | 63.7% | 154,759 | ||
| Republican | Andy Whallon | 36.3% | 88,109 | |
| Total Votes | 242,868 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
| U.S. House, California District 47 Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |
|
66.1% | 90,595 | |
| Republican | 21.9% | 30,054 | ||
| Republican | Sanford Kahn | 11.9% | 16,364 | |
| Total Votes | 137,013 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
||||
Lowenthal won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. He and Andy Whallon (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 3, 2014, unopposed.[121] Lowenthal went on to defeat Whallon in the general election on November 4, 2014.[122]
| U.S. House, California District 47 General Election, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | 56% | 69,091 | ||
| Republican | Andy Whallon | 44% | 54,309 | |
| Total Votes | 123,400 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Lowenthal won the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 47th District.[1] He and Gary DeLong (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 5, 2012, defeating Peter Mathews (D), Jay Shah (D), Usha Shah (D), Steve Foley (R), Sanford Kahn (R) and Steve Kuykendall (R). Lowenthal went on to defeat DeLong in the general election on November 6, 2012.[123][124]
| U.S. House, California District 47 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | 56.6% | 130,093 | ||
| Republican | Gary DeLong | 43.4% | 99,919 | |
| Total Votes | 230,012 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
In 2008 Lowenthal was re-elected to the California State Senate, District 27. He finished with 171,668 votes, while his opponent Allen Wood finished with 83,628 votes.[125] Lowenthal raised $612,938 for his campaign fund.
| California State Senate, District 27 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| |
171,668 | |||
| Allen Wood (R) | 83,268 | |||
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Alan Lowenthal did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
The following issues were listed on Lowenthal's official website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| |||||||
Lowenthal's campaign website listed the following issues:[127]
|
Lowenthal did not formally endorse a candidate in the 2020 presidential election.
Lowenthal did not formally endorse a candidate in the 2016 presidential election.
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
| Alan Lowenthal campaign contribution history | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions |
| 2018 | U.S. House California District 47 | ✔ | $696,052 |
| 2016 | U.S. House, California District 47 | ✔ | $720,441 |
| 2014 | U.S. House (California, District 47) | ✔ | $823,270 |
| 2012 | U.S. House California District 47 | ✔ | $1,210,251 |
| Grand total raised | $3,450,014 | ||
|
Source: Follow the Money |
|||
| U.S. House California District 47 2018 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top industry contributors to Alan Lowenthal's campaign in 2018 | |
| Labor | $186,000.00 |
| Energy & Natural Resources | $55,550.00 |
| Health | $50,575.00 |
| Government Agencies/Education/Other | $32,826.09 |
| Transportation | $30,500.00 |
| Total Raised in 2018 | $696,052.40 |
| Source: Follow the Money | |
| U.S. House California District 47 2018 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top individual contributors to Alan Lowenthal's campaign in 2018 | |
| CORNFIELD, DAVID J | $8,100.00 |
| CAMPION, SONYA LYNN | $5,400.00 |
| CORNFIELD, LINDA ARCHER | $5,400.00 |
| TOWNSEND, CHRISTOPHER | $5,400.00 |
| ERICKSON, DAVID | $5,400.00 |
| Total Raised in 2018 | $696,052.40 |
| Source: Follow the Money | |
Lowenthal won re-election to the U.S. House in 2016. During that election cycle, Lowenthal's campaign committee raised a total of $720,441 and spent $567,209.[128] This is less than the average $1.46 million spent by U.S. House winners in 2016.[129]
Lowenthal spent $3.67 per general election vote received in 2016.
| U.S. House, California District 47, 2016 - Alan Lowenthal Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $720,441 |
| Total Spent | $567,209 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $69,963 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $68,024 |
| Top contributors to Alan Lowenthal's campaign committee | |
| JStreetPAC | $11,650 |
| AES Corp | $10,000 |
| American Academy of Family Physicians | $10,000 |
| American Crystal Sugar | $10,000 |
| Carpenters & Joiners Union | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Transportation Unions | $66,500 |
| Building Trade Unions | $50,200 |
| Public Sector Unions | $47,500 |
| Health Professionals | $34,550 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $33,650 |
| Source: Open Secrets | |
Lowenthal won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. During that election cycle, Lowenthal's campaign committee raised a total of $823,270 and spent $506,596.[130] This is less than the average $1.45 million spent by House winners in 2014.[131]
Lowenthal spent $7.33 per general election vote received in 2014.
| U.S. House, California District 47, 2014 - Alan Lowenthal Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $823,270 |
| Total Spent | $506,596 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $60,080 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $59,582 |
| Top contributors to Alan Lowenthal's campaign committee | |
| Applied Business Concepts | $10,400 |
| American Crystal Sugar | $10,000 |
| American Society of Anesthesiologists | $10,000 |
| Carpenters & Joiners Union | $10,000 |
| Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Transportation Unions | $69,000 |
| Building Trade Unions | $64,000 |
| Public Sector Unions | $44,600 |
| Industrial Unions | $39,000 |
| Health Professionals | $37,685 |
To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section. | |
|---|---|
Below are Lowenthal's FEC reports.[132]
| Alan Lowenthal (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[133] | April 15, 2013 | $39,710.71 | $153,936.67 | $(29,385.13) | $164,262.25 | ||||
| July Quarterly[134] | July 15, 2013 | $164,262.25 | $112,321.76 | $(55,678.54) | $220,905.47 | ||||
| October Quarterly[135] | October 15, 2013 | $220,905.47 | $98,624.55 | $(45,615.52) | $273,914.50 | ||||
| Year-End[136] | January 31, 2014 | $273,914 | $85,845 | $(43,611) | $316,148 | ||||
| April Quarterly[137] | April 15, 2014 | $316,148 | $89,119 | $(71,545) | $333,723 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[138] | May 22, 2014 | $333,723 | $13,697 | $(20,409) | $327,011 | ||||
| July Quarterly[139] | July 14, 2014 | $327,011 | $78,205 | $(39,354) | $365,886 | ||||
| October Quarterly[140] | October 15, 2014 | $365,886 | $140,749 | $(101,304) | $405,332 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $772,497.98 | $(406,902.19) | ||||||||
Lowenthal won election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Lowenthal's campaign committee raised a total of $1,210,251 and spent $1,171,131.[141] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[142]
Lowenthal spent $9.00 per vote received in 2012.
| U.S. House, California District 47, 2012 - Alan Lowenthal Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,210,251 |
| Total Spent | $1,171,131 |
| Total Raised by Election Runner-up | $1,439,651 |
| Total Spent by Election Runner-up | $1,418,740 |
| Top contributors to Alan Lowenthal's campaign committee | |
| Girardi & Keese | $17,500 |
| Amalgamated Transit Union | $10,000 |
| American Assn for Justice | $10,000 |
| American Federation of Teachers | $10,000 |
| American Medical Assn | $10,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Public Sector Unions | $75,000 |
| Retired | $67,850 |
| Leadership PACs | $58,250 |
| Candidate Committees | $55,750 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $53,400 |
To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section. | |
|---|---|
Lowenthal raised no money in the 2010 election cycle.
Senator Lowenthal speaks about SB 9 and 19 |
In 2008 Lowenthal raised $612,938 in campaign donations. His top four contributors are listed below.[143]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Operating Engineers Local 12 | $14,400 |
| California Teachers Association | $14,400 |
| Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters | $14,400 |
| SEIU California State Council | $14,400 |
The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Lowenthal's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $779,057 and $2,535,000. That averages to $1,657,028, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2012 of $5,700,168.36. Lowenthal ranked as the 166th most wealthy representative in 2012.[144] Between 2011 and 2012, Lowenthal's calculated net worth[145] increased by an average of 51 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[146]
| Alan Lowenthal Yearly Net Worth | |
|---|---|
| Year | Average Net Worth |
| 2011 | $1,095,228 |
| 2012 | $1,657,028 |
| Growth from 2011 to 2012: | 51% |
| Average annual growth: | 51%[147] |
| Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[148] | |
Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Lowenthal received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Public Sector Unions industry.
From 2011-2014, 25.95 percent of Lowenthal's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.[149]
| Alan Lowenthal Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $1,844,526 |
| Total Spent | $1,476,730 |
| Top five industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Public Sector Unions | $111,100 |
| Building Trade Unions | $99,500 |
| Transportation Unions | $97,000 |
| Retired | $91,700 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $79,275 |
| % total in top industry | 6.02% |
| % total in top two industries | 11.42% |
| % total in top five industries | 25.95% |
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Lowenthal was a moderate Democratic follower as of July 2014.[150]
According to the website GovTrack, Lowenthal missed 15 of 1,709 roll call votes from January 2013 to September 2015. This amounted to 0.9 percent, which was lower than the median of 2.2 percent among representatives as of September 2015.[151]
The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.[152]
|
Lowenthal most often votes with: |
Lowenthal least often votes with: |
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.
Lowenthal ranked 8th in the liberal rankings in 2013.[153]
The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.
Lowenthal voted with the Democratic Party 95.1 percent of the time, which ranked 29th among the 204 House Democratic members as of July 2014.[154]
Lowenthal voted with the Democratic Party 96.2 percent of the time, which ranked 60th among the 201 House Democratic members as of June 2013.[155]
2020 Elections
|
Candidate U.S. House California District 47 |
Officeholder U.S. House California District 47 |
Personal |
<ref> tag;
no text was provided for refs named huffpost14| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Loretta Sanchez |
U.S. House, California, District 47 January 3, 2013-Present |
Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 27 2004–2012 |
Succeeded by Fran Pavley (D) |
Categories: [Former member, California State Senate] [Senator termed out, 2012] [113th Congress] [114th Congress] [115th Congress] [116th Congress] [Current member, U.S. House] [U.S. House, California] [California] [Democratic Party] [DNC delegates California, 2016] [DNC superdelegates, 2016] [DNC Uncommitted delegates, 2016] [117th Congress] [Former_state_legislators]
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