Election 2024: Get to know the candidates in California’s 38th congressional race

There’s a bit of a rematch happening in California’s 38th congressional district.

Rep. Linda Sánchez, a Democrat from Whittier who is serving her 11th term, is being challenged by Walnut City Councilmember Eric Ching, pastor John Sarega and entrepreneur Robert Zhang Ochoa. She faced Ching and Sarega in the midterm election in 2022.

Sánchez’s seat is deemed unlikely to become closely contested by the Cook Political Report, which analyzes elections. According to state data, Democrats account for 48.3% of all the registered voters in the district, which covers portions of Los Angeles and Orange counties, while 22.8% are no party preference voters and 22.7% are Republicans.

Ching, Ochoa and Sánchez differ on several issues, including immigration. Sarega did not submit a questionnaire for the Register’s 2024 Primary Election Voter Guide and did not respond to requests for comment about his platform.

Sánchez, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico, is a strong advocate for a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers,” young immigrants brought to the U.S. unlawfully, as well as agricultural workers and noncitizens who have temporary protected status, which is granted to foreign nationals from countries that have “extraordinary and temporary conditions,” like war, that prevent them from returning safely, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

She also supports reforms to the United States’ asylum system, which include increasing asylum processing, upping the number of refugee and asylum officers and expanding temporary shelters for asylum seekers, as outlined in legislation she introduced last year.

“The U.S. Citizenship Act would build upon existing funds to provide smarter and safer border management, specifically by directing new resources to where they are most needed — at ports of entry where we must invest in technology, infrastructure and screening capacity,” Sánchez said.

But Ching and Ochoa, both Republicans, suggest shutting down the border.

“We should stop people from coming in because our cities cannot handle more illegal immigrants,” said Ching, who came to the U.S. from Taiwan in 1982. “We should not have any more people that we can’t handle.”

As for “Dreamers,” Ching said it isn’t fair for them to get “a free pass” simply because they were brought to the U.S. by their parents through no fault of their own.

“For the young kids, it’s not their fault,” Ching said. “But I do believe that we have to have law and order.”

Ochoa, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 6, said the border “needs to be closed.” He’s also advocating for reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their hearings, and a guest worker program, formerly known as the “Bracero Program,” which, from 1942-1964, allowed millions of Mexican laborers to work in the U.S with a temporary work permit.

“That worked really well … they were here legally,” he said. “They had the right to be here for a period of time to work, and then they had to go back and reapply. My dad and all his friends would do that constantly, and it worked well for everybody. The United States needed workers and people from Mexico would take their earnings back home, so everybody was happy.”

Ochoa also said he supports a pathway to citizenship for “Dreamers.”

“That’s a very easy answer, yes,” he said. “I came here legally with paperwork, but in my mind, I always think, ‘Suppose my parents had not come here legally. I didn’t have a choice, I was 6 years old. I lived here my entire life.’”

CA-38 has the highest unemployment rate, 4.4%, of all the congressional districts that touch Orange County, according to U.S. Census data, The district includes La Habra in Orange County and Diamond Bar, La Habra Heights, Hacienda Heights, La Mirada, Los Nietos, Norwalk, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Rowland Heights, Santa Fe Springs, Walnut, Whittier and parts of Downey and Industry in Los Angeles County.

Sánchez strongly supports union workers and higher wages, and her political philosophy involves advocating for the working class, she said. Ochoa wants to see the economy improve, and Ching says that “the net effect of any bill should be beneficial to both the labor and employer as a whole.”

“Higher wages drive up the cost of living,” Ching said. “So by raising their minimum wage, is that really a win-win for the employee?”

Just as labor was one of the hottest topics in the California news landscape in this election cycle, foreign conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war, are a driving topic in 2024 as well.

When asked how much assistance should the U.S. provide — military and/or financial — to foreign countries at war, like Israel or Ukraine, Sánchez said: “It’s critical that we deliver already-delayed aid to Ukraine in their efforts to stop Russian aggression and deliver aid to Israel as it works to defend itself from Hamas.” Aid to Ukraine and Israel has been delayed due to Congress’ inability to reach a deal yet this year on granting billions of dollars to the war-torn countries.

Sánchez also said humanitarian assistance must be delivered to “the millions in Gaza who are without food, water, fuel and more.”

“When it comes to assistance from the U.S., we have a responsibility to ensure humanitarian needs are met and that any military offenses are done within the bounds of international law,” she said.

While Ching and Ochoa agreed that the U.S. should aid its allies, Ching believes the assistance should serve “our national interests,” and Ochoa says the U.S. should ensure “other countries contribute a proportional amount of assistance.”

“For example, if Taiwan is at war, there are friendly countries like South Korea, Japan (and) so forth that should be contributing financial support,” Ochoa said.

If those countries decline to give money, the U.S. needs to exert pressure on them by saying the U.S. may not give them financial support if they’re ever in trouble, he said.

In terms of the money game, Sánchez is far and away in the lead. She reported raising $217,035 in the last quarter of 2023, ending the year with $628,948 still left to spend.

Ching reported raising $1,390 and having $10,517 cash on hand.

Sarega and Ochoa haven’t reported any fundraising.

Primary ballots are set to go out to all registered voters on Monday, Feb. 5. Ballot drop boxes will open the same day and voting centers will open starting Feb. 24. The Orange County Registrar’s office will provide in-person voting, voter registration, replacement ballots and other general assistance starting Feb. 5.