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LiberalMind endorses Pedro Casas — as unproven, and on watch
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and voting is underway in California. This is the whole race — the records, the claims, and what the sources actually show. Read the research, and decide which flaw you can live with.
The setup
California's 38th District is drawn on the Proposition 50 map, which governs the 2026 election; the in-effect PVI is D+8 (Wikipedia compilation of the Prop 50 map). This is an open seat — the Prop 50 map split the old CA-38, and its incumbent, Linda Sánchez, chose to run in the new CA-41, where her home city of Whittier was drawn (Orange County Register). No incumbent is on this ballot. The nominees are Hilda Solis (D), a Los Angeles County Supervisor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Pedro Antonio Casas (R), a psychologist. Sánchez endorsed Pico Rivera Mayor Pro-Tem Monica Sánchez in the primary; she was eliminated (Wikipedia).
Hilda Solis (Democratic)
The record: Solis is a Los Angeles County Supervisor for the 1st District (2014–present), was U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, and represented the old CA-32 in the House from 2001 to 2009 (Wikipedia). Her ballot designation is "County Supervisor" (SOS). That is the deepest résumé in this district by a wide margin.
Pros: A former cabinet secretary, a former member of this House, and a sitting county supervisor — she has run a large government and been elected to this chamber before.
Cons: Nowhere in that long record does the file we verified document a break with her party toward conservative values — not in the House, not at Labor, not on the Board of Supervisors. The Manchin exception is earned by breaks in service, across decades of service here, and none is documented.
The flaw, plainly: Solis's flaw is the caucus with a résumé: an organizing vote for the Democratic majority, and a record long enough that the absence of a break is itself the finding.
Pedro Casas (Republican)
The record: Casas (full name Pedro Antonio Casas, per the SOS contact list and Ballotpedia/BallotReady) is a psychologist who was a candidate for CA-31 in 2024 (Wikipedia). The Secretary of State's contact list shows "No Ballot Designation" for him (SOS). He has never held elected office.
Pros: The only nominee who would not organize with the Democratic majority; a professional career outside politics.
Cons: A thin file — one prior candidacy, no office, no ballot designation. Against the most credentialed Democrat in the set, the comparison on paper is not close, and we do not pretend it is.
The flaw, plainly: Casas is unproven — a watch-closely posture, never a demerit under our rules — running on alignment against a heavyweight résumé.
OUR CALL
LiberalMind endorses Pedro Casas — as unproven, and on watch.
Open seats are where the Manchin test does its cleanest work: Solis's record is long, distinguished, and entirely within her party's program on everything the file verifies — no break, no exception. The Republican takes the call on direction. We print the asymmetry honestly: this is the weakest endorsee file in this batch against the strongest opposing résumé, and the endorsement stands because our criteria price documented breaks and caucus math, not résumés alone.
This race is one of hundreds in LiberalMind's Election 2026 coverage. For the complete breakdown — every race, claim by claim — go to liberalmindhq.com.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
--- Sources - Wikipedia, "2026 United States House of Representatives elections in California" (compilation; Prop 50 map PVI D+8; the open-seat status; Solis's service record; Casas's psychology profession and 2024 CA-31 candidacy; the Monica Sánchez primary endorsement and elimination) - Orange County Register — Sánchez's move to CA-41 and the Whittier mechanism behind the open seat - California Secretary of State, Official Candidate Contact List (Sept. 23, 2026) — Solis's "County Supervisor" designation; Casas's full name and "No Ballot Designation" entry
Winner: Hilda Solis (Democratic) — called by the Associated Press. This result was appended on November 4, 2026 (results wave 1); the original article above is unchanged, exactly as published before Election Day.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.