Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Close House races across the country could lead to substantially different outcomes on the future of major tech issues, even more so than in the Senate due to high turnover rates in the chamber.
Here's our look at the key races that will have implications for tech policy next Congress:
1. California's 16th District: Sam Liccardo (D) vs. Evan Low (D)
Though both candidates in the 16th district race are Democrats, it's a significant race because they're competing to replace retiring Silicon Valley stalwart Rep. Anna Eshoo.
- Liccardo is the former mayor of San Jose, where he focused on combating gun violence and homelessness, per his campaign; previously, he worked as a prosecutor in Santa Clara. In 2021 he said tech companies were not to blame for people leaving the Bay Area.
- Liccardo has also received substantial donations from tech companies and VC firms.
- Evan Low is an assembly member for California's 26th district, which includes Silicon Valley.
- Low said in his candidacy announcement that he wanted "to make sure that we support the innovation economy while also focusing on consumer protection and privacy as well," per the San Jose Spotlight.
2. California's 45th District: Michelle Steel (R) vs. Derek Tran (D)
Steel serves on the bipartisan House AI task force and has been vocally pro free-market and enterprise for businesses. Per the Orange County Register, Elon Musk's PAC is supporting her re-election.
- She recently wrote to Meta and Google urging them not to meet with a Vietnamese official while he was in the U.S.
- Tran is a trial lawyer by trade.
- His campaign site suggests he's more open to regulation to support workers. It also states he backs the U.S. leading on blockchain and cryptocurrencies and will "champion initiatives that bolster economic competitiveness" to counter China.
3. Iowa's 1st District: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) vs. Christina Bohannan (D)
Miller-Meeks currently serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and has touted the promise of AI in areas like health care and stressed the importance of competing with China.
- Sources previously told Axios that Miller-Meeks was one of a handful of Republican E&C members whose tight races made committing to a "yes" vote on a comprehensive privacy bill difficult, given disagreements with leadership that have sunk the bill for now.
- Her opponent, Christina Bohannan, a former Iowa House representative and law professor, has hammered Miller-Meeks over abortion rights and is slightly edging her out in recent polls.
4. Ohio's 13th District: Rep. Emilia Sykes (D) vs. Kevin Coughlin (R)
Sykes is a member of a House Science subcommittee focused on research and technology where she has introduced bills to support the quantum supply chain and establish a NASA public-private program.
- Sykes pushed for CHIPS and Science Act money to benefit her district, which received funding for the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub to tackle severe climate impacts caused by rubber and plastic.
- Her opponent, former Republican state lawmaker Kevin Coughlin, believes economic growth for Northeast Ohio will happen by supporting oil, gas and renewable energy projects and obtaining "energy dominance." His campaign page doesn't directly address tech policy.
5. Arizona's 1st District: Rep. David Schweikert (R) vs. Amish Shah (D)
Schweikert says he has a "fascination with innovation and the further implementation of technology into different facets of many industries," introducing several bills to improve health care with AI.
- He has also pushed legislation to audit the Defense Department's financial systems using AI.
- In this toss-up race that could impact the state's growing tech sector, he faces Shah, a former Arizona state representative who does not have a tech platform to point to but is focused on improving health care.
