Perry Meade’s first taste of political organizing came when he was a student at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita.
In 2017, Meade was part of a student coalition that convinced Capo Unified School District to convert six high schools and the district’s education center to solar power.
A multi-year effort, the students worked with the district to conduct economic and feasibility research. Eventually, district leaders approved an $18 million solar installation contract, according to news reports at the time.
Fast forward eight years, and Meade, 26, is one of several Democratic candidates vying for California’s 40th Congressional District seat, represented now by Republican Rep. Young Kim. The district is eyed by national Democrats as a potential flip in the 2026 midterms.
“It’s time for a new generation of leaders,” said Meade. “I’m running for Congress to build an affordable future for all, where housing, health care, education and a liveable wage are not dreams but guarantees.”
“This campaign,” he added, “is about strengthening the middle class and putting working people and young voters back at the center of the Democratic Party.”
Meade said cost of living issues — and his family — sparked his interest in politics.
When he was young, Meade said his oldest sibling was diagnosed with a life-altering disability. The diagnoses took a financial and emotional toll on his family. Now, he said, his sibling gets health care through Medicaid, a program that stands to lose more than $1 trillion in long-term funding as a result of the massive tax and spending package pushed by President Donald Trump and approved by, among others, Kim.
“That was my political awakening to the issues that we have in our system,” Meade said. “Our health care system is not adequate enough to be able to actually care for the families in our communities. Seeing my family struggle, I became determined to help fight for better systems of government, help change things.”
The 40th District — which covers Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties — “is really looking for an affordable future,” said Meade, a graduate from UC Berkeley, where he studied political economy and public policy.
One thing Congress can do to address affordability, he said, is pass a universal childcare policy.
“If you want to be able to start a family, like my parents did here in Orange County, then childcare is taking up a huge chunk of people’s budget. People are working two jobs and cannot afford to have childcare,” he said. “And if you’re scraping by to pay for childcare, then you’re not saving up enough money to buy a home.”
Despite his youth, the Rancho Santa Margarita native has been a political presence in Orange County for quite a while now.
He is the youngest member of the Democratic Party of Orange County’s central committee and ran campaigns that helped freshmen Reps. Dave Min, D-Irvine, and Derek Tran, D-Orange, win congressional races in 2024. He leads organizing and policy campaigns for UNITE HERE Local 11 and has worked for March For Our Lives, the student-led organization that works to end gun violence.
He’s focused on getting more young people involved in the Democratic Party.
“Part of this campaign is I think we need a new generation of leaders because the current generation, and the people that have been failing us at the national level in D.C. — across both parties — are not providing a positive vision that’s rooted in creating a life that’s more affordable for everyone,” Meade said.
The 2026 race for California’s 40th Congressional District has drawn a bevy of candidates, especially as national parties consider it a seat that could flip in the midterms. After 2024, Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, became the only Republican to represent any of Orange County’s six House seats.
Aside from Meade, contenders include: former Chino Valley Unified School District board member Christina Gagnier, retired firefighter and 2024 candidate Joe Kerr, nonprofit founder Nina Linh, community advocate Paula Swift and art dealer Esther Kim Varet.
Kim has also said she is running for re-election.
Republicans account for nearly 38.9% of registered voters in the 40th District, according to the latest report by the California secretary of state in February, while Democrats make up nearly 33.1% of the district’s voters and 22.1% are no party preference.
The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analysis, considers the district to “lean Republican” ahead of the 2026 election.
