California’s 46th Congressional District will hold a rematch in the November 2026 election, with Democratic incumbent Lou Correa facing Republican challenger David Pan for the second cycle in a row. Correa won the June 2 primary with 52 percent of the vote to Pan’s roughly 33 percent, and the Cook Political Report rates the Orange County seat Solid Democrat at a partisan lean of D+10.1Cook Political Report. 2026 House Race, CA-46
June Primary Results
Five candidates filed for the June 2, 2026, primary. Under California’s top-two system, the two highest finishers advance to November regardless of party. With all 423 precincts at least partially reporting, the unofficial results were:2California Secretary of State. U.S. House of Representatives District 46 Returns
- Lou Correa (D): 61,587 votes (52.0%)
- David Pan (R): 38,993 votes (32.9%)
- Christian Mendez (D): 9,263 votes (7.8%)
- Armando “Mando” Perez-Serrato (D): 5,763 votes (4.9%)
- Frank Bahena (D): 2,929 votes (2.5%)
Certification was scheduled for July 10, 2026.2California Secretary of State. U.S. House of Representatives District 46 Returns3Orange County Register. Christian Mendez, CA-46 Candidate, Primary Election Questionnaire4Federal Election Commission. Christian Mendez, Candidate Summary
In their 2024 matchup, Correa defeated Pan by nearly 27 percentage points, taking 63.4 percent to Pan’s 36.6 percent.5Washington Post. California House District 46 Results
Lou Correa, the Incumbent
Correa, a Democrat who grew up in Anaheim, has held the seat since 2017 and is seeking a sixth full term. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Cal State Fullerton and a law degree and MBA from UCLA, and he worked as a banker, attorney, and real estate broker before entering politics.6Office of Representative Lou Correa. Biography Prior to Congress he served in the California State Assembly, on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and in the State Senate.7Orange County Register. Lou Correa Wins Over Bao Nguyen to Replace Loretta Sanchez
In the 119th Congress, Correa sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement.8Office of Representative Lou Correa. Committees and Caucuses Within the Democratic caucus he holds the title of Senior Whip and serves as Vice Chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s Immigration and Border Security Task Force.
Recent votes give a sense of where he sits in the caucus. In May 2026 he voted yes on H.Con.Res. 75, a War Powers Resolution measure to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran; the resolution failed. Correa called the military action an “illegal war” that had exceeded the 60-day statutory deadline for congressional authorization.9Office of Representative Lou Correa. Correa Again Votes to Limit Military Operations in Iran10GovTrack. H.Con.Res. 75, House Vote #170 In February 2026 he voted against the Republican-backed SAVE America Act, describing it as “voter suppression disguised as election reform.”11Office of Representative Lou Correa. Correa Votes Against GOP Voter Suppression Legislation He also voted against the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, citing proposed SNAP cuts, and has repeatedly voted against extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.12Office of Representative Lou Correa. Press Releases
On immigration, he has sponsored bills supporting DACA recipients, opposing construction of a border wall, and protecting sanctuary cities.13Office of Representative Lou Correa. Accomplishments for Immigrants On appropriations, he has secured more than $1 million for criminal justice training facilities at Santa Ana College and $2 million for a park renovation in the City of Orange.12Office of Representative Lou Correa. Press Releases
David Pan, the Republican Challenger
Pan, 62, is a professor of German and chair of the Department of European Languages and Studies at UC Irvine, where he has taught since 2006.14David Pan for Congress. About David He studied at Stanford as an undergraduate and earned his graduate degree from Columbia, and he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company in Los Angeles before entering academia. He edits the political-theory journal Telos.15UC Merced Op-Ed Project. David Pan From 2019 to 2020 he served as a commissioner on the State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights, a panel convened during the first Trump administration.16U.S. Department of State. Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights
His 2026 platform blends libertarian-leaning economics with conventional Republican positions on defense and immigration. His most distinctive proposal is phasing out the current welfare and entitlement system in favor of a universal basic income of $16,000 per year for adults, while guaranteeing existing Social Security and Medicare benefits for anyone 37 or older.17Orange County Register. David Pan, CA-46 Candidate, Primary Election Questionnaire He also supports school vouchers, 12-year congressional term limits, a ban on stock trading by lawmakers and their families, and increased defense spending to counter China, Russia, and Iran.
The District
The 46th sits entirely within Orange County, anchored by Anaheim and including parts of Santa Ana. It covers about 75 square miles and is home to more than 763,000 people, at roughly 10,200 residents per square mile. It is a Hispanic-majority district. Nearly 39 percent of residents are foreign-born, and more than two-thirds speak a language other than English at home. Median household income is about $90,700 and the median home value exceeds $806,000.18Census Reporter. Congressional District 46, CA
Orange County as a whole has shifted from a Republican stronghold to a battleground, with Democrats now holding a slight countywide registration edge of about 694,000 to 646,000 as of June 2026.19Orange County Registrar of Voters. Data Central The 46th leans considerably more Democratic than the county at large and has not elected a Republican in decades.
Money and Endorsements
The financial gap between the two general-election candidates is wide. Through mid-May 2026, Correa’s campaign had raised about $1.07 million and held more than $2.3 million in cash on hand, with roughly $568,000 from other political committees and about $372,000 from individual donors.20Federal Election Commission. Lou Correa for Congress Pan reported total receipts of roughly $72,700 for the same period and ended with less than $1,900 in the bank and about $28,500 in outstanding debt.21Federal Election Commission. David Pan, Candidate Summary
Correa’s 2026 endorsements include the CHC BOLD PAC, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Orange County Labor Federation, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Sierra Club, and Equality California.22Lou Correa for Congress. Endorsements23CHC BOLD PAC. CHC BOLD PAC Endorses Rep. Lou Correa for Re-Election
November Outlook
Every indicator points to a comfortable Correa hold. The district’s D+10 partisan lean, his roughly 15-to-1 fundraising advantage, and his 27-point win over the same opponent in 2024 all favor the incumbent.1Cook Political Report. 2026 House Race, CA-46 Orange County’s four most competitive House seats are drawing the national attention and party investment this cycle, and the 46th is not among them. Pan would need a dramatic shift in the political environment or an unusual collapse by the incumbent to make the race competitive.