Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman and Republican challenger Robin Littau offered different priorities for California’s 2nd Congressional District in a Jefferson Exchange candidates forum.
Huffman focused on health care costs and federal funding, while Littau emphasized public safety and oversight of government spending.
They are running to represent a redrawn district that reaches from Marin County to the Oregon border. For voters in Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, this is their first election in the redrawn 2nd District.
Both candidates said they would travel to hear from its communities. Their answers showed different priorities for what they would do with that representation in Congress.
Reaching the redrawn district
Huffman said representing his current district has taught him the importance of visiting communities in person.
“I know how important it is to drive the long miles, to show up, to meet with all types of people, and listen,” he said.
Littau, who lives in Redding, said she has been traveling across the new district during her campaign, primarily meeting with county Republican committees and other residents.
“I’ve been doing a lot of driving to be able to go to all the different counties,” she said.
Asked what concern unites those communities, Littau pointed first to homelessness and safety. Huffman chose health care, saying its rising cost affects residents throughout the district.
Health care
Littau described struggling to find a dental specialist for one of her children. She said she would examine how public money is spent and try to reduce waste, fraud and administrative costs so more funding reaches local services.
“Getting those taxpayer dollars that are allocated for specific things to the correct place, I think, is important,” she said.
Huffman said fraud should be investigated but argued that it does not explain the shortage of providers or the pressure on health care coverage.
“There is no amount of policing fraud that is going to create those providers and make sure that there’s coverage and quality care,” he said.
Huffman instead called for restoring federal health care funding he said had been cut.
Housing costs
Huffman blamed tariffs in part for higher construction costs. He also supported federal housing vouchers and tax incentives for affordable housing while saying state and local governments need to allow more homes to be built.
“We need more housing,” he said.
Littau said she would work with state and local officials on affordability.
“At the federal level, I would look for opportunities to reduce any kind of building regulations or really high fees,” she said.
She acknowledged that many fees contractors have raised with her fall under the jurisdiction of California rather than the federal government.
Wildfire and forest management
Littau, who lived through the Carr Fire in Redding, called for more support for firefighters and a review of federal forest management. “I would love to see that we would manage our forests better,” she said. She also questioned whether changes affecting logging and forest roads have made that work harder.
Huffman said wildfire projects should focus on areas near communities and major roads, rather than commercial logging in remote forests. “We need to zero in on the proactive thinning and clearing and prescribed burning,” he said. He also called for tribal partnerships and ways to use small trees and other forest material for energy.
Wolves and ranchers
Both candidates supported giving eligible ranchers more ways to deter wolves from livestock, including the use of paint or powder projectiles after training. Littau also called for faster compensation for livestock losses.
“We have to do more to support them because they’re absolutely frustrated,” she said.
Huffman said ranchers face costs and stress beyond the value of animals killed. He supported studying deterrents and improving habitat for wolves’ natural prey.
“There are solutions that range from various types of non-lethal and sometimes lethal interventions to keep wolves away from cattle,” he said.
Guest
- Jared Huffman, Democratic incumbent, California's 2nd Congressional District
- Robin Littau, Republican challenger, California's 2nd Congressional District
