Thanks for covering our event. You make local politics so fun to read about & hopefully are inspiring lots of new folks to get involved. Our venue was limited to 100 attendees. We got so many emails from disappointed folks trying to attend after we were sold out. The enthusiasm is there to flip this seat! Check out Canyon Dems Facebook page to see each of the candidates brief talks.
As an older middle age white guy. I freely admit I am partial to Kerr.
His results in literally inspiring hundreds of volunteers and moving the district to the left should be an indicator. An indication of what can be done if he had the resources that supported others like Min and Tran.
It becomes self fulfilling that Dem leadership doubts his ability to win when they do not support him like they did with Min, Tran, Whitesides, and Rollins.
Most importantly. This post does not attempt to assess who could beat Young Kim.
Isn’t that the whole point?
The demographic of the district is a profile of......him.
It is a right leaning moderate district. Not a Progressive district.
Joe Kerr hasn’t been able to raise money, for someone who has ran so many times before. I think he like only has $10k right now. He won’t make it past the primary.
Thanks for posting. It’s always great to read/hear from the candidate. Granted they had time to prep and polish but these responses are encouraging. Gagnier and Kerr’s responses are the most authentic to this reader. For democrats we MUST let the process play out and back the winner. No matter what.
I'm glad you are considering Joe. He has experience getting lawmakers to support working people in Sacramento and DC! The only people I met who didn't support him were anti-union. That is a problem, but I hope we have enough people who are anti-Young Kim to beat her, no matter who wins the primary. The school board background makes me very nervous.
She lost her school board seat to a MAGA candidate. This district has several school boards taken over by Moms for Liberty, including Capo USD, where a wonderful candidate with years of service was beaten by Lisa Davis. Check her out.
Joe beat the school board candidate in the primary. MAGA candidates are winning our school board elections. We don’t have the voters to elect a school board candidate to Congress. Republicans won’t vote for a Democrat school board member and the attack ads against one will be relentless!
The landscape has changed tremendously in the last six months alone. Again, I think it’s hypocritical for you to use the same measuring stick against Christina as damning but use it against Joe Kerr as a marker as to why he should run.
And also, BECAUSE the landscape has changed so drastically, Joe isn’t the guy to beat Young Kim.
Right?!! And Joe has lost so many more times. Christina actually had a seat she won. Can’t help maga crazy but Joe Kerr isn’t raising the cash to be viable
If Christina wins the primary, we will be bombarded with millions of dollars of attack ads for transgender athletes. Haven't we suffered enough abuse? There is no possible way a school board candidate will beat Young Kim. Joe Kerr beat one in the last primary and he is the candidate I want to represent me - a public servant, old, and experienced. These candidates' "self-sacrifice" will be tested when there is one candidate to support after the primary. Then we will see how much the losers and their supporters want to flip this seat by how much they contribute to helping the winner beat Young Kim. There are too many voters who don't even know who represents them in Congress and will never hear any of these candidates speak. Hopefully they'll be pissed off enough at the Republicans to vote blue no matter who instead of not voting at all.
ABSOLUTLEY!! It is unfathomable to me that 50K registered Democrats did not vote in CA40 . We cannot win unless this is a question that is always answered yes by anyone who wants to be rid of MAGA policies and save democracy. Democrats, No Party Preference and Republicans alike. I am completely obsessed with flipping this seat ever since we lost Katie Porter in the redistricting. In my 4 years of experience talking to strangers on their doorsteps and on college campuses, Joe Kerr has the best chance of winning, but I will fight just as hard if he loses the primary.
Thank you for covering this for all of us who couldn’t make it! I don’t live in CA40 (I’m in CA45 where we recently flipped to Derek Tran) but rooting hard for whoever wins the primary!
The candidate who can beat Young Kim will need to build viral excitement, “meet the moment”, be a confident, hard working problem solver with experience overcoming barriers and be an energizing force for change. It’s early to be counting anyone out .. they’re just getting started. We’ve seen how campaigning skills strengthen with experience. Let’s rally behind the courage it takes to run, contribute to building the buzz, and create a MOVEMENT in CD40
Thank you for this. I had just received a fund-raising text from Gagnier and came here to see what you've reported on her. I certainly find her more compelling and sincere than Varet.
At 0:40 in the Kim Varet post, she's trying to hold back a belch from the taco. Why would anyone eat a taco and try to talk to the voters at the same time? My vote on Varet is a no based on what I've been seeing. As for Perry Meade, I'm sure he is doing a lot of good things for the community, but he's too young to represent us in congress. Period. Joe Kerr and Paula Swift... meh. I think Gagnier looks to be the strongest candidate at this time.
I also won't dismiss him because of his age. Maxwell Frost is 27. AOC was 28 when she was elected. We need people in their 20s-40s in congress. I like that most of our candidates are in this range for CD-40. The people doing the most right now in Congress to oppose Trump are in this age range.
Thanks for covering this. I tried to sign up to attend but it was sold out by the time I did (that's on me for being a slow poke). Since the beginning Christina is the candidate that I have had the most interest in, although I also liked Paula. I talked to both when they attended the rallies in front of MV library. I think Christina would have the most broad appeal in CD-40 because she comes off as a centrist Democrat, being a business owner and serving on the Chamber of Commerce. She is also raising a decent amount of money. Although another commenter might be right that YK would attack her on transgender sports issues (even if there are only a handful of transgender kids if any in our district playing high school sports), which is sadly salient in our district.
I like Joe as well, but I think you are right about the old democrat vibes. He is polished and speaks well, but I am not sure he is the right guy for the moment, especially having lost to Kim last time.
Vibes are just off with Esther. I am REALLY trying with her like her becasue I understand that with the money she is raising there is a high likelihood she could win the primary. But man, she just puts me off.
I am sad I didn't get to see Perry. I couldn't go to the MV library rally either yesterday. He has obviously worked in organizing in the past, has endorsements already, and has had impressive fundraising in a week. His youth might be a liability in our district, but I it would be great to have someone who grew up here represent us.
I am right there with you on EKV. So far her policy is “I’m not Young Kim” which is just another version of the orange Cheeto puff is bad. She’s HIGHLY defensive about not being from the area too. I was at the ANDC meeting when a voter asked about where she lives. It was uncomfortable.
Thanks for covering our event. You make local politics so fun to read about & hopefully are inspiring lots of new folks to get involved. Our venue was limited to 100 attendees. We got so many emails from disappointed folks trying to attend after we were sold out. The enthusiasm is there to flip this seat! Check out Canyon Dems Facebook page to see each of the candidates brief talks.
As an older middle age white guy. I freely admit I am partial to Kerr.
His results in literally inspiring hundreds of volunteers and moving the district to the left should be an indicator. An indication of what can be done if he had the resources that supported others like Min and Tran.
It becomes self fulfilling that Dem leadership doubts his ability to win when they do not support him like they did with Min, Tran, Whitesides, and Rollins.
Most importantly. This post does not attempt to assess who could beat Young Kim.
Isn’t that the whole point?
The demographic of the district is a profile of......him.
It is a right leaning moderate district. Not a Progressive district.
Joe Kerr hasn’t been able to raise money, for someone who has ran so many times before. I think he like only has $10k right now. He won’t make it past the primary.
The election is a year away. A lot can change between now and then.
Here's a comparison of 3 candidates: https://theliberaloc.com/2025/07/14/a-look-at-democratic-candidates-for-ca-40-only-three-respond/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLjbkBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHvDpI5KZ1TwR1JxSPFwvHnjYJ2ofsy5LPAprOEMAMnVRb5v2e2wXeRizSaXS_aem_MnZHHq2L_2_kbfW3IScv5A
Thanks for posting. It’s always great to read/hear from the candidate. Granted they had time to prep and polish but these responses are encouraging. Gagnier and Kerr’s responses are the most authentic to this reader. For democrats we MUST let the process play out and back the winner. No matter what.
I'm glad you are considering Joe. He has experience getting lawmakers to support working people in Sacramento and DC! The only people I met who didn't support him were anti-union. That is a problem, but I hope we have enough people who are anti-Young Kim to beat her, no matter who wins the primary. The school board background makes me very nervous.
Joe Kerr has no money. That matters to get through a primary.
He won the primary last time.
Christine brings the power of leadership. We need to motivate voters and she can do it.
She lost her school board seat to a MAGA candidate. This district has several school boards taken over by Moms for Liberty, including Capo USD, where a wonderful candidate with years of service was beaten by Lisa Davis. Check her out.
Your argument is that we should support Joe because he lost. Yet that’s not okay for Christina??? How does that work?
Joe beat the school board candidate in the primary. MAGA candidates are winning our school board elections. We don’t have the voters to elect a school board candidate to Congress. Republicans won’t vote for a Democrat school board member and the attack ads against one will be relentless!
The landscape has changed tremendously in the last six months alone. Again, I think it’s hypocritical for you to use the same measuring stick against Christina as damning but use it against Joe Kerr as a marker as to why he should run.
And also, BECAUSE the landscape has changed so drastically, Joe isn’t the guy to beat Young Kim.
After the betrayal of women, young voters and democrats who didn't vote in the last election, I'm not taking any chances with the landscape changing!
Right?!! And Joe has lost so many more times. Christina actually had a seat she won. Can’t help maga crazy but Joe Kerr isn’t raising the cash to be viable
If Christina wins the primary, we will be bombarded with millions of dollars of attack ads for transgender athletes. Haven't we suffered enough abuse? There is no possible way a school board candidate will beat Young Kim. Joe Kerr beat one in the last primary and he is the candidate I want to represent me - a public servant, old, and experienced. These candidates' "self-sacrifice" will be tested when there is one candidate to support after the primary. Then we will see how much the losers and their supporters want to flip this seat by how much they contribute to helping the winner beat Young Kim. There are too many voters who don't even know who represents them in Congress and will never hear any of these candidates speak. Hopefully they'll be pissed off enough at the Republicans to vote blue no matter who instead of not voting at all.
Due respect, but will you support the candidate when it isn’t Joe Kerr??
ABSOLUTLEY!! It is unfathomable to me that 50K registered Democrats did not vote in CA40 . We cannot win unless this is a question that is always answered yes by anyone who wants to be rid of MAGA policies and save democracy. Democrats, No Party Preference and Republicans alike. I am completely obsessed with flipping this seat ever since we lost Katie Porter in the redistricting. In my 4 years of experience talking to strangers on their doorsteps and on college campuses, Joe Kerr has the best chance of winning, but I will fight just as hard if he loses the primary.
Joe Kerr is broke.
Thank you for covering this for all of us who couldn’t make it! I don’t live in CA40 (I’m in CA45 where we recently flipped to Derek Tran) but rooting hard for whoever wins the primary!
The candidate who can beat Young Kim will need to build viral excitement, “meet the moment”, be a confident, hard working problem solver with experience overcoming barriers and be an energizing force for change. It’s early to be counting anyone out .. they’re just getting started. We’ve seen how campaigning skills strengthen with experience. Let’s rally behind the courage it takes to run, contribute to building the buzz, and create a MOVEMENT in CD40
Thank you for this. I had just received a fund-raising text from Gagnier and came here to see what you've reported on her. I certainly find her more compelling and sincere than Varet.
At 0:40 in the Kim Varet post, she's trying to hold back a belch from the taco. Why would anyone eat a taco and try to talk to the voters at the same time? My vote on Varet is a no based on what I've been seeing. As for Perry Meade, I'm sure he is doing a lot of good things for the community, but he's too young to represent us in congress. Period. Joe Kerr and Paula Swift... meh. I think Gagnier looks to be the strongest candidate at this time.
Well actually according to the law, he meets the age requirement to represent us in Congress.
I also won't dismiss him because of his age. Maxwell Frost is 27. AOC was 28 when she was elected. We need people in their 20s-40s in congress. I like that most of our candidates are in this range for CD-40. The people doing the most right now in Congress to oppose Trump are in this age range.
Thanks for covering this. I tried to sign up to attend but it was sold out by the time I did (that's on me for being a slow poke). Since the beginning Christina is the candidate that I have had the most interest in, although I also liked Paula. I talked to both when they attended the rallies in front of MV library. I think Christina would have the most broad appeal in CD-40 because she comes off as a centrist Democrat, being a business owner and serving on the Chamber of Commerce. She is also raising a decent amount of money. Although another commenter might be right that YK would attack her on transgender sports issues (even if there are only a handful of transgender kids if any in our district playing high school sports), which is sadly salient in our district.
I like Joe as well, but I think you are right about the old democrat vibes. He is polished and speaks well, but I am not sure he is the right guy for the moment, especially having lost to Kim last time.
Vibes are just off with Esther. I am REALLY trying with her like her becasue I understand that with the money she is raising there is a high likelihood she could win the primary. But man, she just puts me off.
I am sad I didn't get to see Perry. I couldn't go to the MV library rally either yesterday. He has obviously worked in organizing in the past, has endorsements already, and has had impressive fundraising in a week. His youth might be a liability in our district, but I it would be great to have someone who grew up here represent us.
I am right there with you on EKV. So far her policy is “I’m not Young Kim” which is just another version of the orange Cheeto puff is bad. She’s HIGHLY defensive about not being from the area too. I was at the ANDC meeting when a voter asked about where she lives. It was uncomfortable.