U.S. House, California 17th Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in California's 17th Congressional District?
Ro Khanna has the strongest record in California's 17th Congressional District. Ro Khanna scores 73 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Ro Khanna's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Ritesh Tandon (6 of 15 criteria) has too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Democratic · incumbent
Strongest record
Ro Khanna
73 / 100
Public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 60
- Qualifications
- 80
- Performance
- 81
Republican
Ritesh Tandon
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 6 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 55
- Performance
- NR
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Ro Khanna
- On the record2026
A trust holding his wife's assets made thousands of stock trades a year, which a 2026 primary rival made an issue; Khanna says he trades no individual stocks and the trust is independently managed.
Sources: San Jose Spotlight, 2026, San Francisco Standard, March 3, 2026
- On the record2019-12-20
PolitiFact rated False his Dec. 20, 2019 MSNBC claim that his district has a higher GDP than Russia; he told PolitiFact he misspoke.
Source: PolitiFact, Dec. 20, 2019
- Credit2025-11-19
His Epstein Files Transparency Act, pushed to a floor vote by a discharge petition with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), was signed into law on Nov. 19, 2025.
Sources: GovTrack, H.R. 4405, Washington Post via Anchorage Daily News, Nov. 20, 2025
- Credit2023-08
In August 2023 his office received a Congressional Management Foundation Democracy Award in the Life in Congress, Workplace Environment category.
Source: IANS, Aug. 15, 2023
- Credit2019-05-30
His office won the Congressional Management Foundation's 2019 Democracy Award for constituent service.
Source: Santa Clara Weekly (Silicon Valley Voice), June 10, 2019
Ritesh Tandon
- On the record2021-04-09
On April 9, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Ritesh Tandon and other applicants an injunction against California's COVID-19 limits on at-home religious gatherings in Tandon v. Newsom.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Ro Khanna. Required House financial disclosures are on file, with the 2025 annual report filed Aug. 10, 2026 after an extension. No House Ethics Committee matter or FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: House Committee on Ethics site search, FEC administrative fines search
Ritesh Tandon. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026, and a House candidate financial disclosure for 2026 is on file, filed Oct. 8, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Clerk candidate financial disclosure, Filing ID 10083039, FEC administrative fines search
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Ro Khanna. Voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act in May 2023 and the March 2024 appropriations package when Democratic Leader Jeffries and Caucus Chair Aguilar voted for them.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 243, 2023, House Clerk Roll Call 102, 2024
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Ro Khanna. Holds open in-person town halls in the district, including one at Ohlone College in Fremont in April 2024 and a post-election town hall at Santa Clara University.
Sources: Office RSVP page, April 2024 town hall, Santa Clara University School of Law, 2024
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Ro Khanna. Served as a deputy assistant secretary of Commerce and in Congress since 2017. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee matter found.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Ro Khanna, House Committee on Ethics site search
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Ro Khanna. Voted Nay on both January 2021 objections to state electors (Arizona and Pennsylvania). Not among the January 2017 objectors. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, 2021
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Ro Khanna. Serving his fifth House term since 2017, after serving as a deputy assistant secretary of Commerce (2009 to 2011).
Sources: Office site, About, GovTrack, Ro Khanna
Ritesh Tandon. Engineer and technology executive, CEO of Kricel Corporation and a former UC Berkeley research fellow, with an MBA from Santa Clara University. Has not held public office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Ritesh Tandon
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Ro Khanna. Ranking member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation and of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; formerly chaired an Oversight subcommittee.
Ritesh Tandon. Publishes a ten-point affordability agenda with general policy and solution statements.
Source: Campaign site, home page
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Ro Khanna. Offers an e-newsletter, publishes issue pages and holds town halls. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Office site, home page, Ballotpedia, Ro Khanna
Ritesh Tandon. Completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey and publishes plain-language issue positions.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Ritesh Tandon, Campaign site, home page
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Ro Khanna. Lives in Fremont and has represented the district since 2017. FEC by-state totals for 2025 to 2026 show about 59 percent of itemized individual contributions from California.
Sources: Wikipedia, Ro Khanna, FEC contribution totals by state
Ritesh Tandon. Says he has lived in Silicon Valley for two decades. FEC by-state totals for 2025 to 2026 show about 64 percent of itemized individual contributions from California.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Ritesh Tandon, candidate survey, FEC contribution totals by state
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Ro Khanna. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Ritesh Tandon. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Ro Khanna. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 1.215 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 0.535, exceeds expectations. Primary sponsor of 13 enacted bills, including the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed Nov. 19, 2025.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, Ro Khanna, GovTrack, H.R. 4405
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Ro Khanna. Missed 42 of 5,079 roll call votes, 0.8 percent, from January 2017 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Ro Khanna. Keeps a Santa Clara district office and offers federal casework. His office won the Congressional Management Foundation's 2019 Democracy Award for constituent service.
Sources: Office site, home page, Santa Clara Weekly (Silicon Valley Voice), June 10, 2019
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Ro Khanna. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -0.53233 in the latest posted House scores (118th Congress, 2023), ranked 229 of 436, negative but above the bottom quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Ro Khanna. No public record found.
Ritesh Tandon. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 9, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in California's 17th Congressional District?
Ro Khanna has the strongest record in California's 17th Congressional District. Ro Khanna scores 73 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Ro Khanna's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Ritesh Tandon (6 of 15 criteria) has too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in California's 17th Congressional District in 2026?
Ro Khanna (Democratic, incumbent), Ritesh Tandon (Republican). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Ro Khanna a good candidate for Congress?
Ro Khanna scores 73 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria: character 60 of 100, qualifications 80 of 100, performance 81 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Ritesh Tandon a good candidate for Congress?
Ritesh Tandon has public evidence on 6 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every California race scored, the trailing candidate's path to victory, and the California 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.