Michael Ted Levin (born October 20, 1978) is an American politician and attorney serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

California's 49th congressional district California's 49th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is represented by Mike Levin. The district currently covers the northern coastal areas of San Diego County, including Oceansi ...

since 2019. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he represents most of northern coastal

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

, as well as part of southern

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Early life and education

Levin was born in Inglewood, California, and raised in Lake Forest, California, in South Orange County. His mother is Mexican-American and his father is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Levin was raised in both the Jewish and Catholic faiths. He attended Loyola High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

before attending Stanford University. At Stanford, Levin served as president of the student body. He attended law school at

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit t ...

before returning to Orange County.

Early career

Levin co-founded CleanTech OC, a clean energy trade association in

, and was profiled in an OC Metro "40 Under 40" piece for his work at FlexEnergy, a company that developed a technology to capture and use methane from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. He was the director of government affairs at

FuelCell Energy FuelCell Energy, Inc. is a publicly traded fuel cell company, headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut. It designs, manufactures, operates and services Direct Fuel Cell power plants (a type of molten carbonate fuel cell). As one of the biggest ...

from 2014 to 2017. He also served as vice president of Better Energy Systems, a consumer-facing cleantech startup based in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, and on the board of directors of the Center for Sustainable Energy, an environmental organization based in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. In this capacity, Levin opposed the redevelopment of Encina Power Station, arguing that "the proposed Carlsbad plant contradicts the priorities that California has established to reduce pollution across our state as it will use combustion to generate power." Levin served as the executive director of the Democratic Party of

. He later served on the National Finance Committee for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's 2016 campaign for President.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

On March 8, 2017, Levin announced his candidacy for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

to replace incumbent Representative

Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served ...

. The district had historically been one of Southern California's more Republican districts, but redistricting after the 2010 census cut out most of its heavily Republican inland portion, making it significantly more competitive. Issa had nearly been defeated in 2016 as

carried the district. At a town hall event that Issa held on March 11, 2017, Levin publicly confronted Issa and mentioned a book he had sent Issa in 2016, ''Climate Change for Beginners''. Levin charged that Issa's solution to climate problems "is to build more natural gas plants and to keep the nuclear energy plants online for longer.... I think that's an unfathomable proposal for a progressive and environmentally-friendly place like San Diego." On January 10, 2018, Issa announced his retirement. Levin campaigned with a platform focused on energy and environmental issues. Due to the competitive character of the race as well as the absence of an incumbent, there were 16 candidates on the ballot in the primary. The large number of candidates in the

nonpartisan blanket 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. ...

led to fears that Democrats would be locked out of the general election. In the June 5 primary, Levin came in second to Republican State Board of Equalization chair

Diane Harkey Diane Lynn Harkey (born June 20, 1951) is an American politician who served as a member of the California State Board of Equalization, representing its fourth district from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously elected ...

and advanced to the general election. This assured that the district would be represented by someone from the Orange County portion of the district, though the 49th is a San Diego district by weight of population. Levin is from

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for " St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St ...

, while Harkey is from nearby

Dana Point Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a po ...

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, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

endorsed Levin as well as other candidates.

2020

He won reelection in 2020 with 53.1% of the vote against Brian Maryott.

2022

In the 2022 general election, Levin defeated Republican Brian Maryott.

Tenure

As of October 2022, Levin had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources ** Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife * Committee on Veterans Affairs ** Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity (chair) **

Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Jurisdiction The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...

* Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

Caucus memberships

Congressional Hispanic Caucus The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fou ...

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...

*Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition *Freshmen Working Group on Addiction *Gun Violence Prevention Task Force *Safe Climate Caucus *California Aerospace Caucus *End Corruption Caucus * House Pro-Choice Caucus

Political positions

Abortion

Levin has 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 to ...

and an F rating from the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

for his voting record on abortion-related issues. He has emphasized his support for "a woman's right to a safe, legal abortion".

Climate change

Levin has made

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

a priority, and for this reason, national media focused on energy and environmental issues cited his 2022 reelection bid as one of the top races to watch. He voted to pass the

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a landmark United States federal law which aims to curb inflation by reducing the deficit, lowering prescription drug prices, and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean en ...

, the largest climate policy ever passed by Congress. Levin supports the

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

Inflation

Levin supported the

Infrastructure

Levin voted for the

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and originally in the House as the INVEST in America ActH.R. 3684, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress ...

, a bipartisan piece of legislation that authorizes spending to rebuild U.S. infrastructure and fund new initiatives related to

climate resilience Climate resilience is defined as the "capacity of social, economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or disturbance".IPCC, 2022Summary for Policymakers .-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, ...

and broadband infrastructure. Levin supports relocating the

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

off of the coastal bluffs of

Del Mar Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "from the sea". It may refer to: Places in the United States * Del Mar, California * Del Mar High School, located in San Jose, California * Del Mar racetrack, located in Del Mar, California * Del Mar Fai ...

to a more secure location. He plans to continue advocating for more funding from the

to complete a rail tunnel under Del Mar by 2035.

Gun policy

In 2022, Levin voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022. He also voted for the

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a landmark United States federal law passed during the 117th United States Congress. It implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun safety laws. Gun safety laws ...

, which CNN called "the most significant new federal gun safety measure in decades."

Voting rights