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Majority Savers: Let's Support Mike Levin for California-49! [1]

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Date: 2022-10-21

Candidate Background

Mike Levin has the quintessential American story. He has Mexican ancestry on his mother’s side, and Jewish ancestry from his father. He grew up celebrating both Catholicism and Judaism. If that isn’t the melting pot that is America, then what qualifies as such?

Levin went to Stanford University, where he was the student body president. He then attended Duke University Law School to get his J.D. degree. He then went back to Orange County where he grew up.

Levin was an environmental attorney who went after big polluters in the area. He also founded quite a few startups, all of which focused on curbing emissions or harnessing clean energy. He opposed a redevelopment of a power station that would burn greenhouse gasses for example.

Levin is a Clinton alumnus, having served as a finance committee member for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. He also is heavily involved in the Orange County Democratic Party, where he saw the rapid growth and capture of every Congressional district in 2018.

Signature Issues

Rep. Mike Levin is a part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and his votes reflect a more progressive nature than many of the candidates I have profiled. He has pushed for ideas that would put him on the left flank of the party, yet he votes with Biden’s agenda nearly 100% of the time.

On DW Nominate, Levin has a score of -0.376, which puts him right in the middle of our caucus. He is more liberal than 73% of the full membership of the House. He is slightly more moderate than the median Democratic member, being 53% more moderate than the entire Democratic caucus.

Climate Change and the Environment: It is no surprise given his history that these are the issues that he cares most deeply about. He has voiced support for the Green New Deal in the past, and he constantly fights to put climate change provisions in bills. His plan is too detailed to post here!

Gun Safety: Levin has championed numerous gun safety reforms in his Congressional tenure. He has even worked across the aisle to secure support for better gun storage. He has pushed for enhanced background checks, closing the numerous loopholes, and even an assault weapons ban.

Health Care and Abortion: Levin supports adding a public option to the ACA to lower costs. He also would find it acceptable to lower the Medicare age as well. He would try and lower the cost of prescription drugs. Finally, he is 100% pro-choice.

Elections History

Recent Elections —

2020 President: Joe Biden (D) 54.6%, TFG (R-inc) 43.2%

2020 House: Mike Levin (D-inc) 53.1%, Bryan Maryott (R) 46.9%

2022 PVI: D+3

2022 Race Rating: Leans Democratic

This district, like many of the suburbs of southern California, used to be staunchly Republican in nature. In fact, this district had continuous GQP representation from the creation of this district all the way until 2018. In recent times, car thief Rep. Darrell Issa was the representative from this district. He was one of the wealthiest members of Congress and difficult to dislodge.

A funny thing happened in 2016 — he finally faced notable opposition in Colonel Douglas Applegate. In one of the closest races that year, Applegate held Rep. Issa to a very narrow 50.3-49.7% win. It was the closest race of Issa’s career. It showed how far this district had come from its GQP roots, as Hillary Clinton carried the district as well.

This close race was enough to send Issa to the exit in 2018, and the blue wave that year helped us flip the district. In the end, it wasn’t even a close race. Environmental attorney Mike Levin got into the Top 2 primary and faced off against an undistinguished GQP opponent. He has a slightly more difficult race in 2020, but he still won with relative ease. Here’s to hoping 2022 lands the same way!

Camp Pendleton is a major Marine Corps base right in the middle of this district.

Political Tour of the District

This district has two parts to it, split by Camp Pendleton right in the middle. It straddles the coast of both San Diego and Orange Counties. What was once a reliable Republican district is now a Democratic leaning swing seat.

Here’s where this race will be won in the 49th district.

Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar: These suburbs of San Diego have a decided Democratic lean to them these days. The environmentally conscious cities are perfect for Rep. Mike Levin’s messaging, and he needs good turnout here to ensure a third term in office.

These suburbs of San Diego have a decided Democratic lean to them these days. The environmentally conscious cities are perfect for Rep. Mike Levin’s messaging, and he needs good turnout here to ensure a third term in office. Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista: These suburbs are recent converts to the Democratic Party, and there is a chance that they could backslide to the GQP at any point. As long as Levin is clearing 55% of the vote in each of these three cities, he should be fine for re-election.

Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.

Orange County: Consisting of San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, and Laguna Niguel, the section of Orange County found in this district is much more conservative than the rest of the district. Mike Levin and Bryan Maryott are both from this area, so there is no geographical advantage gained by either candidate. Levin won’t win here, but he must put in a respectable showing.

Activism — Help How You Can!

Rep. Mike Levin is a fundraising machine, routinely pulling down close to a million dollars each quarter. In the 2nd quarter, he pulled in $920k, and in the 3rd quarter he pulled in about $1 MILLION again, and he roughly has $2 MILLION cash in hand at the end of September. This is important because the media markets he has to spend in are quite expensive.

The GQP challenger, Bryan Maryott, has upped his fundraising game in the 3rd quarter. After a ho-hum $327k in the 2nd quarter, he actually outraised Levin to the tune of $1.1 MILLION in the 3rd quarter. His cash on hand situation is more perilous, being at $543k at the end of September. No doubt that this is an expensive race, but dark money has largely stayed out of it as far as I can tell.

DONATE TO REP. MIKE LEVIN HERE

We are so close to the election, that I can see the finish line. No doubt that ballots have been sent out to voters, as California is a vote by mail state now. That means constant reminders to vote are coming thick and fast (I get them too, as I am on the permanent absentee ballot list in Michigan). It takes volunteers to make that happen, and now is the time to sign up for a campaign near you!

VOLUNTEER FOR HIS CAMPAIGN HERE

In terms of social media, Rep. Mike Levin seems to have all of the bases covered. He has a huge following (for a political campaign account) on Twitter, where he has a grand total of 108.8k followers. He is quite prolific on his campaign account, and his message is definitely getting out to the voters. He is an ad that he launched right around the time I wrote this.

x WATCH: our new ad in #CA49.



17 months after the January 6 insurrection, our opponent still refused to admit Trump had lost.



“…Maryott wouldn’t say whether the 2020 presidential election was a settled matter.”



-San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/29/22 pic.twitter.com/DKhXn0dYvZ — Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) October 6, 2022

He also has accounts on Facebook and Instagram. He doesn’t have quite as many followers on those platforms, but he definitely has built of quite the social media machine even on those platforms. He also has a YouTube channel, which houses the many digital and TV ads his campaign has run.

This race doesn’t feel like one that I have to worry about, but I am still profiling the race to be absolutely sure of it. Rep. Mike Levin seems to be a strong incumbent, and he fits the district well. He already defeated Bryan Maryott once before in 2020, and I have no doubt that Maryott will be defeated once again. As we creep closer to election day, the races come fast and thick!

How to find all Majority Savers’ diaries:

To find all past and future diaries of the Majority Savers group, go to their Diaries List. (We suggest that you Bookmark that page.) The home page of the Majority Savers group is here.

Mike Levin for California-49!

Donate | Volunteer | Events | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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