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San Ramon Valley voters are set to choose between a Democratic incumbent and a Republican newcomer in the Nov. 3 race for California’s 10th Congressional District.
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) is seeking a fifth term in office amid a challenge from Moraga resident Jeff Frese.
DeSaulnier is a longtime local representative whose political career kicked off when he was elected to the Concord City Council in 1991. He went on to serve on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and in the state house and assembly before being elected to Congress in 2009.
“Mark has a proven track record of supporting the middle class and improving the quality of life of families in the East Bay and across the country,” DeSaulnier’s representatives wrote on his campaign website.
Frese’s campaign seeks to present him as a fresh face and a political outsider. On his website, he describes himself as a husband, father, small-business owner — he founded the brand Fat Snax — and a San Francisco 49ers fan.
“I’m not a politician,” he says on the site. “I built a national snack brand from my own kitchen, sold it and have run consumer companies since. I’ve made payroll and answered to customers, not donors. I don’t need this as a job.”
DeSaulnier, meanwhile, said on his site that his “guiding principle” is that he works for his constituents.
Together we can promote our shared progressive values and fight to make America more just, fair and equal,” he said on his site.
Despite their differences, one area of overlap between the two candidates’ platforms is cost of living.
“Congress makes the budget and spends the money,” Frese said. “They print and devalue your dollar and inflate assets, and every year a home gets further out of reach. Most Americans now live paycheck to paycheck.”
Frese said “the American dream is slipping away” and pointed the finger at Congress.
“Owning a home here shouldn’t feel impossible, and raising a family here shouldn’t feel like a luxury,” Frese said.
Frese’s platform for addressing affordability concerns includes putting a stop to deficit spending and the “red tape” that he said interferes with development; banning Wall Street and hedge fund from buying single-family homes; and blocking “foreign ownership of American farmland and family homes.”
DeSaulnier pointed to his own experience as a blue-collar worker before being elected to office and emphasized its impact on his political career.
“Before I was a Congressman, I drove trucks, waited tables, ran restaurants and paid union dues,” DeSaulnier said. “I didn’t get into public service to check boxes or climb a ladder. I got into it because I’ve lived the same pressures a lot of families are feeling right now. I believe the government should actually make your life easier, not harder.”
Nonetheless, he said, there are new challenges facing his constituents today.
“Right now, AI and automation are changing jobs faster than Washington is reacting,” DeSaulnier said. “That’s a problem. Workers, not just tech companies, deserve a voice in what comes next. In Washington, I am fighting against the reckless Republican agenda and advocating for the issues that matter most to California families.”
DeSaulnier pointed to his legislative track record including “30 concrete policy recommendations on preparing workers for the AI economy” and ongoing work as a ranking member on the House Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee.
He also highlighted his work at the local and state level, including advocating for the successful passage of Contra Costa County’s urban line limit renewal measure in this year’s primary election “to preserve open space and prevent sprawl.”
He said he is currently pushing for research into how remote work can ease traffic congestion and emissions “while benefitting workers and employees,” as well as affordable housing and transit improvements locally.
Frese’s campaign includes “clean up Congress” as one of its major priorities.
“Congress was never meant to be a career, and you certainly shouldn’t get rich from it,” Frese said. “You should be there to serve. The career grifters have turned it into a job with a pension, and the outcome for you stopped mattering a long time ago.”
Frese is advocating for eight-year congressional term limits, a ban on congressional stock trading, preventing representatives from being paid during government shutdowns when budgets aren’t passed in time and “no cashing out as a lobbyist.”
“My focus is Contra Costa families and the things that actually hit your life: your kids’ schools, your safety, your bills, your job and the retirement you were promised,” Frese said. “My opponent has had 11 years, 204 bills and two laws to show for it. For him it’s about the income. For me it’s about the outcome.”
Other points in Frese’s platform include safety, election integrity, social security and medicare and education.
DeSaulnier’s wide-ranging platform also focuses on environmental issues, accountability and ethics, support for local news and accountability for tech companies, gun safety, health, veterans, civil rights and immigration.
“I want to continue delivering results for our region and to move our nation forward by growing our economy, creating good paying jobs, ensuring America’s students receive a quality education without being shackled by debt, investing in our nation’s infrastructure, protecting Medicare and Social Security, promoting health care for all, safeguarding the environment, creating sensible gun laws that protect all of us and making the United States a leader in innovation around the globe,” DeSaulnier said.
More information on DeSaulnier’s campaign is available at desaulnierforcongress.com.
More on Frese’s campaign is available at freseforcongress.com.
DeSaulnier faces Republican challenger Frese in race for Congressional District 10October 8, 2026 7:37 am
I question Desaulnier’s judgment as he didn’t notice the obvious decline of Biden—and he didn’t know of Swawell’s pecadillos—yeah RIGHT!! He’s been at the trough $$ long enough!!! Time for change.