Joshua Keck Harder (born August 1, 1986) is an American politician and venture capital investor who has served as the U.S. representative from

California's 9th congressional district California's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Jerry McNerney, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2013. Prior to redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting ...

since 2019 (known as the 10th congressional district until 2023). A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent

Jeff Denham Jeffrey John Denham (born July 29, 1967) is an American politician, United States Air Force veteran, and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. Denham first won election to th ...

in the 2018 election by five points. In 2020, he was reelected by a significantly larger margin than in 2018. He won reelection to California's new 9th congressional district, created through the 2020 redistricting process, which includes the majority of

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County (; Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San J ...

Early life and education

Harder was born in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...

, and graduated from Modesto High School. He earned political science and economics undergraduate degrees from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

and a joint

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

/ MPP from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

and

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Private career

In 2014,

Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners (Bessemer) is an American venture capital firm. The firm has over $19 billion under management and invests globally, with offices in San Francisco, Redwood City, New York City, Boston, Israel, India, and London. Besseme ...

hired Harder in its

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

office. He moved back to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

and became a vice president of the company. In 2017, Harder left Bessemer to campaign full-time. He moved back to Turlock and taught business at Modesto Junior College.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In May 2017, Harder announced his candidacy, joining three other Democrats to challenge Republican

, who had represented the 10th district since 2013 and represented the 19th district from 2011 to 2013. As a result of California's

top-two primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

system, Denham and Harder advanced to the general election, with Denham taking 37.5% of the primary vote and Harder 16.7%. California's 10th district was included on the list of Republican-held seats being targeted by the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds, and organizes races in ...

in 2018. On election night and for days after the election, Denham led in the reported results. On November 9, Harder pulled ahead as absentee ballots were counted. Days later, news outlets projected Harder's victory, and on November 14, Denham conceded.

2020

Harder ran for reelection in 2020, finishing first in the top-two open primary with 44% of the vote. He bested

opponents Ted Howze and Bob Elliott. Harder and Howze advanced to the general election on November 3, which Harder won with 55.2% of the vote to Howze's 44.8%. In 2020, former President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

endorsed Harder.

2022

Following redistricting, Harder defeated San Joaquin County Supervisor

Tom Patti Tom Patti is an American businessman and politician who is a member of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. As an amateur boxer, Patti was training partners with Mike Tyson. After the death of Cus D'Amato, Patti became Tyson's manager an ...

, a Republican, with 56% of the vote in

California's 9th Congressional district California's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Jerry McNerney, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2013. Prior to redistricting by the California Citizens Redistricting ...

Tenure

Harder has represented

California's 10th congressional district California's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Currently, the 10th district encompasses parts of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. It is currently represented by Democrat Mark DeSaulni ...

since 2019. After Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Harder received hate mail intended for

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the junior United States senator from Missouri since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Hawley served as the 42nd attorney general of Mi ...

, a United States senator with a similar name who objected to certifying Joe Biden's electoral college victory. As of September 2022, Harder had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research ** Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture * Committee on Appropriations ** Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education ** Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

Problem Solvers Caucus The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bipartisan group in the United States House of Representatives that includes members equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, who seek to foster bipartisan cooperation on key policy issues. The group was c ...

Political positions

Abortion

As of 2019, Harder had a 100% rating from

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access t ...

for his abortion-related voting record. He opposed the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''.

Electoral history

Personal life

Harder and his wife Pamela met as undergraduate students at

. They were married at the

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (95 acres) are botanical gardens and an event venue located at 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court, in Vienna, Virginia. They are open daily except for major holidays and ice; an admission fee is charged. Garden admissions ...

in Virginia in 2018. Harder and his wife announced they had a baby daughter on March 9, 2022.

References

External links

Congressman Josh Harder
official U.S. House website
Josh Harder for Congress
campaign website * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harder, Josh 1986 births Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Harvard Business School alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Modesto Junior College faculty People from Turlock, California Stanford University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni