Two candidates who come from low-income beginnings agree their race to represent the 24th Congressional District focuses on cost of living.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, 61, Santa Barbara, is seeking his sixth term in a district that includes Ventura and Ojai as well as all of Santa Barbara County and part of San Luis Obispo County. Carbajal, the son of a late Oxnard farmworker, is a Democrat who said voters want lower prices in grocery stores, in real estate and at the gas tank.
In the Nov. 3 election, the incumbent faces Bob Smith, a retired Navy commander who works as a systems engineer and has run a can-do campaign centered on issues, including restoring affordability.
Smith, who grew up in disadvantaged communities outside of Philadelphia and in south
New Jersey, ran in the primary as a Republican but changed his personal status to no party preference. The move doesn't change the ballot, meaning he's still listed as Republican, but Smith said the decision shows his allegiance to community members, not party leaders.
“If I’m elected, I would walk into office as an independent,” he said.
In an interview in downtown Ventura, Smith said his military and engineer training has made him a problem solver on issues like housing and inflation He blamed the rising price of gas not as much on federal policies but on California decisions like the state gas tax and the use of cleaner, more expensive fuel.
Carbajal points at the war with Iran and President Donald Trump as primary drivers of rising fuel prices.
“We’re worse off today than when he started the war,” he said in a phone interview. “He hasn’t reached an agreement. He hasn’t stopped the war. Iran is more emboldened today than ever.”
Questioning effectiveness
Both candidates are self-made. Carbajal immigrated to the country with his family when he was 5. His father worked in copper mines in Arizona, moving to Oxnard. In the summer, Carbajal worked with him, picking strawberries, tomatoes and other crops. His mother suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and couldn’t work.
The family lived in public housing in Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood. Carbajal graduated from Oxnard High School in 1983 and later earned bachelor's and master's degrees.
He served as a Marine reserve and was elected to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors in 2004. He ran for Congress 12 years later and won.
The incumbent is a career politician who has written little if any legislation that has impacted Central Coast residents, Smith said. He has not brought change and hasn't done enough for the communities he represents.
“I think he’s riding it to a pension,” he said of Carbajal’s tenure in Congress.
Smith said his Navy career included combat deployments and assignments on advanced weapons systems. He said he spent more than a decade of working on major defense acquisitions and programs with much of that time in Washington, D.C., learning the ins and outs of the federal budget. He said the experience would help him bring change and legislation to his district.
“This is what I do,” he said. “I bring people together, and I solve problems.”
'It's what opponents do'
Carbajal said the accusations are wrong. He points at legislation he co-sponsored aimed at helping families cover the cost of child care, also citing a bill to create a new tax credit for first-time home buyers.
He said his role in infrastructure legislation helped bring $1 billion in roadway projects and other work in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. He said he helped bring federal funding for a long list of local projects including a Ventura County Sheriff's project involving forensic testing and a planned botanical park in Meiners Oaks
“It’s what opponents do,” he said of Smith's claims. “It’s all they can do. I have a track record that speaks for itself.”
Smith grew up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He said his father worked in construction but struggled with addiction and other issues. Smith said the family moved some 30 times. In his high school years, he was raised by his grandmother who worked as a hospital janitor.
He dropped out of high school to take a job in construction, then followed the advice of his employer who encouraged him to join the Navy. He did and also gained bachelor's and master's degrees. In 2023, he was named one of the U.S. Navy's top engineers of the year.
Carbajal is the clear favorite in the race. He gained 54% of the vote in the primary with Smith receiving 36% of the vote and two other candidates making up the balance.
Federal Election Commission records show Carbajal has raised about $1.65 million in the campaign with about $570,000 coming from groups, including political action committees. Smith raised just over $200,000 in his campaign and said he did not accept any PAC money.
Smith said the change in party doesn’t reflect any shift in his ideas but reflects his willingness to cross aisles. He said he stopped wearing a Phildelphia Phillies cap for fear voters will think the color represents an affiliation to “Make America Great Again” beliefs.
“He’s a touchy subject, Smith said of Trump, adding he agrees with the president’s stance on some issues, including pushing NATO allies to commit spending money on defense. He challenged other White House policies.
"Tariffs on Canada I can't understand at all," he said.
Carbajal targeted Trump repeatedly in a phone interview. He complained bitterly about the White House's intervention that allowed the Sable Offshore company to revive its pipeline off Santa Barbara's coast.
“I have done everything possible to stand up to the administration and call it for what it is – corruption,” Carbajal said.
Stances on ICE
If economy is a huge issue in the district, so is immigration.
“ICE has terrorized our communities,” Carbajal said, who advocates blocking funding increases and stopping mass detention policies. He said fighting for immigration reform, opposing cuts to healthcare from what he called the "big ugly bill," working for affordable housing and advocating for renewable energy are why he continues to seek re-election.
Smith said he agrees with the deportation of immigrants with violent backgrounds and argued that local law enforcement agencies should have greater discretion in transferring custody of some convicted criminals to federal authorities. But he said the front lines for immigration efforts should be at the borders and not in communities across the Central Coast.
They agree on some issues like the often-threatened Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was created to provide protection for people who immigrated with their families as children. They both said people in DACA should be given a path to citizenship.
"It's a tragedy that they have to live the way they are — in the shadows," Carbajal said.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Carbajal, Smith talk immigration, gas in 24th Congressional race
