Juan Vargas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Filner |
| Constituency | 51st district (2013–2023) 52nd district (2023–present) |
| Member of theCalifornia State Senate from the40th district | |
| In office December 6, 2010 – January 2, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Denise Moreno Ducheny |
| Succeeded by | Ben Hueso |
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the79th district | |
| In office December 4, 2000 – November 30, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Denise Moreno Ducheny |
| Succeeded by | Mary Salas |
| Member ofSan Diego City Council from the 8th district | |
| In office February 22, 1993 – December 4, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Filner |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Inzunza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Juan Carlos Vargas (1961-03-07)March 7, 1961 (age 64) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of San Diego (BA) Fordham University (MA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Juan Carlos Vargas (born March 7, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who has been aU.S. representative forCalifornia since 2013. His district includes the southernmost portions ofSan Diego County.[1]
Vargas previously served as aDemocratic member in theCalifornia State Senate representing the 40th district, theCalifornia State Assembly representing the 79th district, and theSan Diego City Council.
Vargas was born on a chicken ranch inNational City, California, where he grew up very poor.[2] He is the third of ten children of Tomas and Celina Vargas, who immigrated to the United States fromMexico in the late 1940s as part of theBracero program.[3] Vargas graduatedmagna cum laude with a BA from theUniversity of San Diego and earned an MA in humanities fromFordham University.
After college, Vargas joined theJesuit Novitiate inSanta Barbara. In the Jesuits, Vargas served in an orphanage in El Salvador's civil-war-torn jungles. After leaving the Jesuits, he attended law school, graduating in 1991 with aJD fromHarvard Law School.[4]
In 1992, Vargas ran in the newly created50th congressional district, based inSan Diego. He lost theDemocratic primary, ranking fourth with 19% of the vote.Bob Filner won the primary with a plurality of 26%[5] and went on to win the election.
Vargas served on theSan Diego City Council from 1993 to 2000. While on the council, he created "Operation Restore" to employ homeless people to remove graffiti and to rehabilitate homes.[6]
In 1996, Vargas challenged Filner in the Democratic primary. Vargas wouldn't debate Filner, so the incumbent instead sparred with a life-sized Vargas cardboard cutout. Vargas said he agreed with Filner on "99 percent" of issues.[7] Filner defeated him 55%–45%.[8]
In 2000, Vargas ran inCalifornia's 79th State Assembly district. He defeated Republican Jon Parungao 77%–19%.[9][10] In 2002, he defeated Republican Mark Fast 66%–30%.[11] In 2004, he defeated Libertarian Eli Wallace Conroe 85%–15%.[12]
In his first year in the Assembly, Vargas was appointed Assistant Majority Leader. He authored AB 188, legislation that bans smoking in children's playgrounds. He also introduced legislation aimed at protecting children from arcade video games, and authored legislation to mandate life sentences for people who commit violent sex crimes against children, which served as a model for Chelsea's Law.[13]
In 2006, Vargas challenged Filner a third time, this time inCalifornia's 51st congressional district. He accused Filner of being a part of theculture of corruption of Washington, pointing out that Filner had paid his wife more than $500,000 in campaign funds for consulting services performed from their condominium in Washington. Filner argued that Vargas had controversial payments to his brother-in-law, who was a lobbyist for realtors.[16][17] Filner defeated Vargas 51%–43%, with Danny Ramirez getting 6% of the vote.[10][18][19]
After leaving the State Assembly in 2006 due to term limits, Vargas took a job with a home, auto and small business insurance company, where he was tasked with creating jobs and outreach in diverse San Diego communities as part of the company's diversity initiative.[citation needed] He left that job at the end of 2009 to run as a Democratic candidate for the California State Senate.
In 2010, Vargas narrowly won a seat in the California's 40th State Senate district, defeating AssemblywomanMary Salas by 22 votes after recounts in San Diego and Riverside counties. He resigned from the Senate effective January 2, 2013, to take his seat in Congress. A special election to fill his seat was held in March 2013.[20]
In 2012, when Filner announced he would retire from Congress to run formayor of San Diego, Vargas endorsed him despite their history of bitter rivalry.[23] Vargas then ran for Filner's seat in the51st district. In the open primary, he ranked first with 46% of the vote. Republican Michael Crimmins ranked second with 20%, Democratic state senatorDenise Moreno Ducheny third with 15%, and four other candidates received single-digit percentages.[24] In November, he defeated Crimmins 71%–29%.[25][26]
In 2019, Vargas spent $124,200 of campaign money on photography, printing, postage, mailing and shipping of holiday cards that he sent to constituents.[27]
Vargas was sworn in on January 3, 2013. In 2015, he and his wife, Adrienne, spent five days in Berlin andElmau, Germany. The trip was paid for byRobert Bosch Stiftung and theGerman Marshall Fund and cost $18,200. Part of Vargas's congressional work, the trip was to help him develop "a greater understanding of the key legislative topics of the 114th Congress through our [Germany and the United States] transatlantic relationship."[28]
In 2022, Vargas was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[29][30]
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He voted in favor of a bill that provided an additional$14.3 billion to supportIsraeli military operations in theGaza Strip.[31]
For the118th Congress:[32]
Vargas has a 100% rating fromNARAL Pro-Choice America and an F grade from theSusan B. Anthony List for his abortion-related voting record.[41][42] He opposed theoverturning ofRoe v. Wade, calling it "fundamentally wrong and extremely disappointing, impacting millions of women across the country."[43]
In 2023, Vargas was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed PresidentJoe Biden to remove U.S. troops fromSyria within 180 days.[44][45]
In February 2025, Vargas joined aprotest against Donald Trump's immigration policies led by religious leaders including CardinalRobert McElroy, theBishop of San Diego andArchibishop-designate of theArchdiocese of Washington.[46]
Vargas and his wife, Adrienne, have two daughters.[27]
During the 1999armed conflict inKosovo, Vargas welcomed a Kosovar refugee family into his family's home for nearly two years.[4]
He had a cameo in the 2023 movieDumb Money.
Last summer, Juan Vargas walked up to Filner in a beer line at a South Bay festival with a message he's never given Filner before. Vargas told Filner he was going to endorse him.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 51st congressional district 2013–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 52nd congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 117th | Succeeded by |
| People | |
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| Other | |
