It’s a common refrain across the country this midterm election cycle, but both candidates for California’s 38th Congressional District also had the same answer when asked about the No. 1 issue in their communities: affordability.
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Retired Army psychologist Pedro Antonio Casas and L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis are vying for this new district that includes Yorba Linda in Orange County and Baldwin Park, Commerce, El Monte and Montebello in L.A. County.
Casas, a Republican, and Solis, a Democrat, both pinpointed cost of living as the major issue impacting those in their district. But they differed — as they do on other topics, such as offshore drilling, healthcare and immigration — when it comes to just who is to blame.
“California Democrats have made California into the highest cost of living. I intend to find fraud, audit all spending and lower taxes at all levels,” Casas said in response to a questionnaire from the Southern California News Group.
Solis, meanwhile, blamed the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff policies, its massive tax and spending bill passed in 2025 that made massive cuts to Medicaid, and the ongoing war with Iran.
“Families should not have to bear the cost of policies driven by political agendas rather than their economic needs,” Solis said. “I will fight for practical policies that lower costs and strengthen working families, including tax relief for working- and middle-class households, more affordable housing and efforts to reduce health care and childcare costs.”
Solis, 68, previously represented a California congressional district from 2001 to 2009, leaving to serve as the labor secretary under the Obama administration. A former state legislator, she has served on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors since 2014, including as its chair for nearly the past year.
When it comes to how the federal government could actually help make housing in California more affordable, Solis said she supports extending federal investments in housing, including the low-income housing tax credit, which gives states and certain local agencies authority to approve tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of rental housing for lower-income households.
“Communities cannot meet the housing crisis alone. The federal government needs to be a stronger partner in helping people afford to live where they work and where their families have put down roots,” Solis said. “Success should be measured by whether families are spending less of their income on housing, whether more affordable homes are available, and whether fewer people are being forced out of their communities or into homelessness because they cannot afford to stay.”
Building more housing isn’t enough, said Solis, if working people cannot afford it.
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Born in Texas, Casas moved at a young age with his family to Baldwin Park, according to his campaign website. He earned a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from UC Santa Barbara, and spent more than 29 years in the military, where he rose to the rank of colonel and commanded units in Germany, his campaign website said.
As for housing policy, Casas, 64, said California Democrats were to blame for high housing costs in the Los Angeles area. If elected, Casas said he would like to “investigate every aspect of this and lower housing costs.”
Casas also wants to audit healthcare services, he said, and does not support expanding Medicare.
“Anyone who believes that ‘Medicare for All’ is a good idea should consider the following: Do you want your taxes to be doubled or tripled to pay for it? Why should people who can, but do not attempt to work, qualify? What about those who simply expect free government rent and housing? ‘Medicare for All’ is a horrible idea,” he said.
Solis said she would support reversing cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, especially those made with President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax and spending bill. But she also wants to expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices.
“Pharmaceutical companies should not be able to charge Americans more for the same medications while making billions in profits,” Solis said. “No one should have to ration medication or choose between filling a prescription and buying groceries. We need a health care system that protects the programs people rely on, lowers costs and puts patients ahead of pharmaceutical profits.”
In the 38th Congressional District, registered Democrats account for 44.92% of the voters (192,112), according to the latest statistics from the California secretary of state’s office. Registered Republicans make up 24.07% of the voters (102,942) and another 24.85% (106,302) are no party preference.
For more about these candidates’ — and others’ — views on data centers, immigration, surveillance technology and more, view their questionnaires on our voter guide.
Ballots have already been sent to every registered voter in California, and voting is underway. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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