California’s 46th Congressional District will decide its 2026 election on November 3, with Democratic incumbent Lou Correa facing Republican David Pan in a rematch of their 2024 contest. Correa, who has held the Anaheim-anchored Orange County seat since 2017, took 52 percent of the vote in the June primary; Pan, a UC Irvine professor, finished second with about 33 percent. The Cook Political Report rates the seat Solid Democrat with a D+10 partisan lean, making Correa the heavy favorite for a sixth full term.1Cook Political Report. 2026 House Race, CA-46
Who Advanced From the June Primary
Five candidates filed for the June 2, 2026, primary. Under California’s top-two system, the two highest vote-getters 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. The two Democratic challengers who ran to Correa’s left split less than 15 percent of the vote between them, leaving Correa and Pan on the November ballot for the second cycle in a row. In 2024, Correa beat Pan by nearly 27 points, 63.4 percent to 36.6 percent.3Washington Post. California House District 46 Results
Lou Correa, the Incumbent
Correa grew up in Anaheim and holds an economics degree from Cal State Fullerton and a law degree and MBA from UCLA.4Office of Representative Lou Correa. Biography He has been in elected office for most of the past three decades, moving from the State Assembly to the Orange County Board of Supervisors to the State Senate before winning the open 46th District seat in 2016.
In the 119th Congress he serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement.5Office of Representative Lou Correa. Committees and Caucuses Within the Democratic caucus he holds the title of Senior Whip and vice-chairs the New Democrat Coalition’s Immigration and Border Security Task Force. Across his career he has sponsored 120 bills and cosponsored more than 1,800.6Congress.gov. J. Luis Correa
Several recent votes have defined his record for 2026 voters:
- On May 14, 2026, he voted yes on H.Con.Res. 75, a War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran. The measure failed. Correa called the military action an “illegal war” that had exceeded the 60-day statutory deadline for congressional authorization.7Office of Representative Lou Correa. Correa Again Votes to Limit Military Operations in Iran8GovTrack. H.Con.Res. 75, House Vote #170
- In February 2026 he voted against the SAVE America Act, a Republican-backed voter-ID bill he described as “voter suppression disguised as election reform.”9Office of Representative Lou Correa. Correa Votes Against GOP Voter Suppression Legislation
- He voted against the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, citing proposed SNAP cuts and what he described as infringement on California state rights.10Office of Representative Lou Correa. Press Releases
- He has repeatedly voted against extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, citing warrantless searches of Americans’ communications.10Office of Representative Lou Correa. Press Releases
On immigration he has sponsored bills supporting DACA recipients, opposing border-wall construction, and protecting sanctuary cities.11Office of Representative Lou Correa. Accomplishments for Immigrants For the district, 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.
David Pan, the Republican Challenger
Pan, 62, chairs the Department of European Languages and Studies at UC Irvine, where he has taught German since 2006.12David Pan for Congress. About David He studied at Stanford, earned a graduate degree from Columbia, and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company before entering academia. He also edits the political-theory journal Telos.13UC 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 Trump administration.14U.S. Department of State. Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights
His 2026 platform combines libertarian-leaning economics with conventional Republican positions on defense and immigration. He proposes 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.15Orange 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 higher 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, roughly 10,200 per square mile.16Census Reporter. Congressional District 46, CA Nearly 39 percent of residents are foreign-born and more than two-thirds speak a language other than English at home. The median household income is about $90,700 and the median home value exceeds $806,000.
Orange County as a whole has moved 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 2026.17Orange 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.
Fundraising 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.18Federal 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.19Federal Election Commission. David Pan, Candidate Summary
Correa’s 2026 endorsements include the CHC BOLD PAC (the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus), the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Orange County Labor Federation, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Sierra Club, and Equality California.20Lou Correa for Congress. Endorsements21CHC BOLD PAC. CHC BOLD PAC Endorses Rep. Lou Correa for Re-Election
November Outlook
The district’s D+10 partisan lean, Correa’s nearly 15-to-1 fundraising advantage, and his 27-point win over Pan in 2024 all point toward a comfortable Democratic hold in November. Pan would need a dramatic shift in the political environment or an unusual collapse by the incumbent to make the race competitive. Orange County’s four most competitive House seats draw far more national attention and party investment, and the 46th is not expected to be among them.