Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman faces Republican challenger Robin Littau in a reshaped Northern California congressional district that now includes the heavily Republican counties of Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc.
This is Huffman’s first election under the boundaries redrawn by Proposition 50, which brought Redding, where Littau lives, into the 2nd Congressional District. Huffman emphasizes his experience representing a sprawling district, while Littau points to her understanding of rural and urban communities. They emphasize different priorities, including homelessness, public safety and health care costs.
Huffman first won election to the U.S. House in 2012. Before entering Congress, he worked as a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. He said representing a large district requires showing up and listening.
“I know how important it is to drive the long miles, to show up, to meet with all types of people, and listen, and just bring a real problem-solving approach to that complicated challenge,” he said. “It is a big district, and it's a big job.”
Littau, a Coast Guard veteran, owns a Redding-based cleaning service and a faith-based lifestyle magazine. She said people’s voices aren’t being heard in Washington, D.C., and her experience living in rural and urban communities has helped her understand their needs.
“There's no better option than somebody from within the district that's been experiencing the results of all the legislation to best represent all these different diverse areas that we have in our counties,” she said.
Littau identified homelessness and public safety as issues that unite district residents. Huffman pointed to healthcare.
“It's healthcare,” he said. “We all need it, no matter where you are — rural, urban, middle class, struggling. The cost of healthcare is out of control and getting higher.”
A Pew Research Center survey in July found that a majority of voters said the economy, including the cost of living, was top of mind. The organization also found that three-fourths of voters consider healthcare affordability a major problem.
Both candidates said Congress should address healthcare costs, but they emphasized different approaches.
Littau pointed to concerns about government spending.
“One of my biggest frustrations is seeing the fraud, waste, and abuse that I keep hearing all around on a state level, on a federal level,” she said. “And then even on a local level.”
Huffman said waste and fraud are already crimes and that the real issue is access and affordability.
“We’ve got to stop stacking the deck for billionaires and oligarchs and powerful corporations,” he said. “Giving them these massive tax breaks while gutting the healthcare system that impacts all of us.”
The newly added portion of the district also brings concerns about conflicts between wolves and ranchers. The area is home to many of California’s gray wolves. The endangered predators have killed at least 394 farm animals since returning to the state in 2011.
Littau said ranchers she has spoken with are frustrated and want solutions.
“From everything I've heard in our district from the agriculture community, they are absolutely at the end of patience,” she said. “They want remedies and solutions, and they're feeling really frustrated with the legislation in place.”
She welcomed recent funding for additional wolf deterrents and compensation for ranchers whose livestock is killed.
“I thought that was really good news to hear that farmers and ranchers are going to have another deterrent resource that's been recently approved,” she said.
Huffman said he wants to consider several approaches, including improving habitat for animals that wolves prey on.
“There's also things if you go upstream, like improving habitat for deer, elk, and antelope, so that we have more prey for these wolves, and they're not just eating beef cattle,” he said. “That can be a real win-win in this space, and I want to look at all of it.”
Littau faces a substantial fundraising disadvantage. She has raised less than $5,000 during the campaign, less than most of her primary opponents, according to federal filings. Huffman has raised nearly $1 million since 2025.
Voters should begin receiving ballots Oct. 5. Ballots are due by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3.
