The June primary election ballot includes a four-way race for the congressional seat representing Santa Barbara County.
Candidates on the ballot include incumbent Salud Carbajal, a Santa Barbara Democrat; Sarah Bacon, an elected student officer at UC Santa Barbara; Helena Pasquarella, an Ojai Valley teacher and caregiver; and Bob Smith, a defense systems engineer in Carpinteria.
Carbajal is a former Santa Barbara County supervisor and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran. He was first elected to Congress in 2016 and currently serves on the House Committee on Armed Services, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Agriculture.
Bacon is a Santa Barbara resident and vice president of external affairs for the UCSB Graduate Student Association. She is a former tech executive who went back to UCSB for graduate school and became involved in student governance, according to her campaign website. She is running as a Democrat.
Smith is a Carpinteria resident and retired U.S. Navy officer. He served for more than 26 years, according to his campaign website, “leading soldiers in multiple combat deployments and overseeing the development of the Navy’s most advanced weapon systems.” He is running as a Republican.
Pasquarella is an Ojai Valley resident and works as director at the U.S. Department of Peace in Ojai, according to her campaign website. She has more than 15 years of experience as a K-12 teacher and has worked as a photographer. She is running as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party and previously ran as a Democrat in 2024.
The top two vote-getters in the June 2 election will be on the ballot on Nov. 3.
The 24th Congressional District includes Santa Barbara County, southern San Luis Obispo County and western Ventura County.
The California Secretary of State’s Office released the certified list of candidates for the June election on Thursday.
In addition to congressional districts, the offices up for election include some State Senate and State Assembly seats; offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction; and Board of Equalization members.
Head-to-Head for the State Assembly Seat
Santa Barbara County residents can vote for the District 37 State Assembly seat, which has two contenders: Democrat Gregg Hart, who is running for re-election, and Republican Sari Domingues.
Hart is a former Santa Barbara County supervisor and Santa Barbara City Council member. He owned and operated a preschool for more than 20 years and worked for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
Domingues is a Santa Maria native and retired business analyst. She worked for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District and for Santa Barbara County before moving to Monterey County, where she worked on workplace software systems for payroll, human resources and other management, according to her campaign website.
County Offices on the Ballot
Santa Barbara County offices on the June ballot were finalized last week.
The June 2 ballot includes two Santa Barbara County supervisor seats, several department heads, Superior Court judges, and state and federal offices.
The last day to register to vote for the June election is May 18, according to the County Elections Office.
All active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the primary election, and the ballots will start being mailed by May 4.
