Matt Gunderson Announces Congressional Challenge Against Rep. Mike Levin

Mission Viejo car dealership owner and former state Senate candidate Matt Gunderson announced on Tuesday that he would be entering the 49th Congressional District race against Congressman Mike Levin (D-CA), becoming the sole challenger so far against Levin.

A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Chicago, Gunderson moved to Californian in the 1990’s, working in the car sales field. In 2001, he opened up his first dealership in Mission Viejo, followed by two more. While he did not get involved in politics during this time, Gunderson did hold many prominent non-profit and public organization positions, including Chairman of the Mission Hospital Foundation Board, member of the Saddleback College Foundation Board, and Chair of the Orange County Auto Dealers Association.

In 2022, Gunderson ran for his first major race for the California State Senate 38th District seat covering Northwest San Diego County. He ran as a Republican against Democratic Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear. While he did win the primary vote 45.4% to 43.6% with a slight margin of 3,000 votes, he wound up losing the race in a close 52%-48% race, 188,166 votes against 172,534. Even though he lost, he still did better than most media had projected, with Northern SD County being proven to be vulnerable for Democrats once again.

With Orange County shifting once again towards Republicans with many wins, and all seats taken by the Democrats, sans Congresswoman Katie Porter’s (D-CA) seat in 2018 shifting back to the GOP, many outlets were reporting a brighter outlook in 2024. This carried over to Northern San Diego County, with Levin’s 49th Congressional District going from a “safe D” to only “likely D.” Now with some wiggle room, and the GOP pushing for a larger majority in the House, many Republican groups named the district as a 2024 target, similar to the Democrats singling out 5 GOP members of Congress to go after next year.

Gunderson filled in the void for the 49th district on Tuesday, becoming the first, and so far, only candidate to challenge Levin.

“It’s clear that career politicians aren’t solving the problems our community faces today,” said Gunderson in a statement on Tuesday. “I’m not a politician. I know what it takes to build businesses and raise a family here in California, and I’m ready to bring my real-world experience to Washington to get our economy back on track and solve skyrocketing inflation and rising cost-of-living.”

“With rising inflation, taxes and homelessness, it is time for a change. It’s getting harder and harder to survive in California thanks to the failed policies of far-left politicians like Mike Levin. Too many middle-class families are fleeing the state they’ve called home their whole lives. It’s time to end the inflation crisis, cut taxes, hold criminals accountable, and pass term limits to get rid of the career politicians who got us into this mess.”

In a Tweet, he also added, “Career politicians aren’t solving the problems CA families face today. I’m a businessman, not a politician. I know what it takes to build businesses & raise a family here. I’ll bring real-world experience to DC to create jobs and build a better economy.”

Career politicians aren't solving the problems CA families face today. I’m a businessman, not a politician. I know what it takes to build businesses & raise a family here. I'll bring real-world experience to DC to create jobs and build a better economy. https://t.co/EyUJTnAlGP pic.twitter.com/B6XJM4nBUv

— Matt Gunderson (@GundersonForCA) May 9, 2023

The 49th District Race

With the race likely going to be Levin and Gunderson in the general election next year barring another big GOP or Democrat entering the election, political experts noted to the Globe that candidates would not be running in swing districts or in districts where it is possible where either candidate could win, as control of the House is a central goal of both parties next year.

“Democrats and Republicans both want control of the House in 2024,”  Malik Griffin, a Los Angeles polling analyst, told the Globe Tuesday. “The GOP wants to expand control because they only have a narrow lead right now, while the Democrats want to take it back. Senate control and the Presidency are big too of course, but the House race has the most variables.”

“The 49th District has proven to be more vulnerable. Levin did win in 2022, but it came at his lowest win percentage yet, coming in at only 52.6% of voters compared to his 53.1% in 2020 and 56.4% in 2018. So not only is the District shifting back to the GOP, Levin is getting diminishing returns. So Gunderson coming in makes sense. He almost became a state Senator last year, and he has a decent base and campaign structure already thanks to that. Other candidates usually have to start from scratch. He doesn’t.”

“2024 is going to be an election filled with close elections, and the likely Levin-Gunderson race is looking to be exactly that.”

More Congressional candidates are expected to announce runs soon.