U.S. House, California 32nd Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in California's 32nd Congressional District?
Brad Sherman has the strongest record in California's 32nd Congressional District. Brad Sherman scores 70 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Brad Sherman's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Larry Thompson (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
Brad Sherman
70 / 100
Public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 60
- Qualifications
- 80
- Performance
- 69
Republican
Larry Thompson
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 6 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- 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.
Brad Sherman
- Mark against2012-10-11
At an Oct. 11, 2012 debate with Rep. Howard Berman he put his arm around Berman's shoulder and confronted him; he told the AP the next day he should not have done that.
Sources: Roll Call, Oct. 11, 2012, Associated Press via Fox News, Oct. 12, 2012, NPR, Oct. 12, 2012
- Credit2022-03-15
Sponsored H.R. 4616, the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act, incorporated into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, signed March 15, 2022.
- Credit2020-07-14
Sponsored H.R. 7440, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, signed into law July 14, 2020 (Pub.L. 116-149), with seven Republican and four Democratic cosponsors.
- Credit2020-12-18
Sponsored H.R. 7000, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, enacted through the identical S. 945, signed Dec. 18, 2020.
Larry Thompson
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Brad Sherman. No House Ethics Committee matter or FEC administrative fine found. His 2025 annual financial disclosure is a scanned paper filing listed by the Clerk as filed July 10, 2026 after extensions.
Sources: House Committee on Ethics site search for Sherman, FEC administrative fines search
Larry Thompson. A House candidate financial disclosure was filed Aug. 10, 2026 after an extension, and campaign reports are on file with the FEC through Sept. 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: House Clerk candidate financial disclosure, Filing ID 10075612, FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Brad Sherman. Voted against both Minority Leader Jeffries and Whip Clark on several significant 2025 to 2026 roll calls, including the GENIUS Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 and the Fix Our Forests Act.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 200, 2025, GENIUS Act, House Clerk Roll Call 45, 2026, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, House Clerk Roll Call 25, 2025, Fix Our Forests Act
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Brad Sherman. His office reports an in-person town hall at Cal State Northridge on April 26, 2025 with more than 1,000 residents, and six town halls in 2026, mostly by telephone. No 2026 general election debate record found.
Sources: Office press release, April 27, 2025, Office site, Town Halls
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Brad Sherman. In the House since 1997 after serving on the State Board of Equalization from 1990 to 1995. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee finding found. A 2012 debate confrontation he apologized for is older than 10 years (E1).
Sources: Ballotpedia, Brad Sherman, House Committee on Ethics site search for Sherman
Larry Thompson. 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.
Brad Sherman. Voted Nay on both January 2021 objections to certified electors and on the January 2005 Ohio objection; raised no objection in 2001 or 2017. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 7, Jan. 6, 2005
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Brad Sherman. Serving his fifteenth term in the House, since 1997, after the State Board of Equalization.
Sources: Office site, Biography, GovTrack, Brad Sherman
Larry Thompson. Has worked for decades as an entertainment lawyer, talent manager and film and television producer, and founded the Larry A. Thompson Organization. Has not held public office.
Sources: TheWrap, Aug. 27, 2025, Ballotpedia, Larry Thompson
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Brad Sherman. Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa; seven bills he sponsored were enacted.
Source: GovTrack, committee membership
Larry Thompson. Published a 32-point campaign plan; his survey answers state goals such as fire recovery in general terms.
Sources: TheWrap, Aug. 27, 2025, Ballotpedia, Larry Thompson
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Brad Sherman. Offers a newsletter, a federal issues questionnaire and issue pages, and holds regular town halls. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Office site, home page, Office site, Town Halls, Ballotpedia, Brad Sherman
Larry Thompson. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025, 2023 and 2019, and publishes issue pages on his campaign site.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Larry Thompson, Campaign site, home page
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Brad Sherman. Lives in Sherman Oaks, inside the district, and has represented the San Fernando Valley since 1997. FEC by-state totals for 2025 to 2026 show about 71 percent of itemized individual contributions from California.
Sources: Office site, Biography, FEC contribution totals by state
Larry Thompson. Says he has lived in Los Angeles since 1968 and lives in Malibu, which is in the district. FEC by-state totals for 2025 to 2026 show about 67 percent of a small itemized total from California.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Larry Thompson, TheWrap, Aug. 27, 2025, FEC contribution totals by state, Simi Valley Acorn, June 6, 2026
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Brad Sherman. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Larry Thompson. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through Sept. 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Brad Sherman. Center for Effective Lawmaking rated him Meets expectations in the 118th Congress (LES 2.0 0.792, benchmark 0.577). His Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act was enacted in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, H.R. 4616 (117th Congress)
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Brad Sherman. Missed 232 of 18,577 roll call votes, 1.2 percent, from January 1997 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Brad Sherman. Runs a district office in Sherman Oaks, offers help with federal agencies, and held six town halls in 2026 with thousands of participants per his office. No published casework totals found.
Sources: Office site, Office Locations, Office site, home page, Office site, Town Halls
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Brad Sherman. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -0.08860 in the 118th Congress (2023), ranked 149 of 436, a negative score above the bottom quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Larry Thompson. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Brad Sherman. No public record found.
Larry Thompson. 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 32nd Congressional District?
Brad Sherman has the strongest record in California's 32nd Congressional District. Brad Sherman scores 70 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Brad Sherman's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Larry Thompson (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 32nd Congressional District in 2026?
Brad Sherman (Democratic, incumbent), Larry Thompson (Republican). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Brad Sherman a good candidate for Congress?
Brad Sherman scores 70 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria: character 60 of 100, qualifications 80 of 100, performance 69 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Larry Thompson a good candidate for Congress?
Larry Thompson 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.