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California Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin and San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa are running to replace long-time Democratic stalwart Jackie Speier in Congress in Tuesday's election.
Speier is retiring after nearly 15 years serving the Peninsula and parts of San Francisco as the representative of what's now Congressional District 15.
In the June primary election, Mullin earned about 52 percent of the vote, while Canepa earned about 24 percent — they were the top two vote-getters out of seven candidates, which means they'll face off on the November ballot.
In addition to enjoying a substantial margin of victory in the primary, Mullin has raised more than $1.1 million while Canepa has taken in about $803,000 as of Oct. 19, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Both are Democrats who have had substantial careers in local politics, with Canepa serving eight years on the Daly City City Council before becoming a supervisor six years ago.
Mullin, 52, was elected to the Assembly in 2013 after serving on the South San Francisco City Council from 2007 to 2012, with one of those years as mayor.
Mullin, son of former state Assemblymember Gene Mullin, enjoys support from the party's establishment, including the California Democratic Party, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom, among others.
Speier, for whom Mullin worked when she was in the California Senate, has also endorsed him.
The 47-year-old Canepa understands he's in an uphill battle.
"On election night, we'll see where we're at, but we recognize that this is a tough race," Canepa said. "We're going to continue to campaign to the end."
Early in the campaign, Canepa came out in favor of Medicare for All and the Green New Deal and talks about offering free community college and working to end homelessness.
He said his tenure on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, on which Mullin also served, puts in him a good position to bring federal solutions to the Peninsula's crushing traffic problems and he touts his experience working on San Mateo County's pandemic response. <br> He has vowed not to take campaign contributions from corporate PACs and has criticized his opponent for not doing the same.
Canepa describes himself as progressive but both candidates hold many similar policy positions.
For example, both pledge to work on affordable housing issues, to bring federal transportation funding to the region, to protect access to abortion, to support paid family leave and to fight climate change and right-wing attacks on democracy.
According to Mullin's campaign website, he vows to "fight back against an extremist Supreme Court" by voting to codify the Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling into law.
Mullin highlights his time in the Assembly, where he was able to pass more than 60 of his bills, and says he'll work "to end the sale of new gasoline motor vehicles by 2035 and to electrify public transit" and to make billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, according to his website.
