U.S. House · California's 46th District
David Pan
CandidateR
- Race
- U.S. House · California's 46th District
- Result
- Lou Correa, projected winner
- Opponent
- Lou Correa (D)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did3 statements · 0 votes
I support charter schools and school vouchers to allow all parents to choose the best education for their children.
Public funding for school choice (vouchers / charters)
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 46
2026-11-03
| Lou Correa D | incumbent |
| David Pan R | challenger |
Advanced from the June 2, 2026 top-two primary.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Says rising crime is endangering families and neighborhoods, and calls for recruiting more police and enforcing laws to make streets safe again.
Documented position[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
I support charter schools and school vouchers to allow all parents to choose the best education for their children.
Says he supports charter schools and school vouchers so that parents can choose the education for their children.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Medicaid and Medicare would be privatized, and people could still choose to remain in these programs by paying the monthly premiums.
Proposes phasing out current welfare and entitlement programs and privatizing Medicaid and Medicare, which would remain as options people could choose by paying premiums, alongside a $4,000 per year health insurance voucher.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
David Pan, a Republican professor of German at UC Irvine, lost the November 3, 2026 election for the U.S. House seat in California's 46th District to Lou Correa. He has worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company and served on a U.S. State Department commission from 2019 to 2020. He also ran for this seat in 2024, losing to Rep. Lou Correa, and said he ran in 2026 because of what he saw as the education establishment moving away from merit and equality of opportunity.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Pan was born and raised in the Chicago area in the 1960s to parents who immigrated from Taiwan, and attended public schools in Chicago and Mount Prospect, Illinois, according to his campaign website.[2] He earned an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a graduate degree from Columbia University.[1][2]
Pan has worked at Washington University in St. Louis, Stanford University and Pennsylvania State University, and since 2006 has been a professor of German at UC Irvine. He also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company in Los Angeles.[1][2] According to his campaign website, he has been editor of the journal Telos and served from 2019 to 2020 as a commissioner on the U.S. State Department's Commission on Unalienable Rights.[2]
Pan was the Republican nominee for the 46th District in 2024, advancing from the March primary alongside Correa and losing the November general election.[1] He received 30.0% of the vote to Lou Correa's 70.0%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3]
In their own words
Campaign money$81K raised · 88% from individuals · FEC through 2026-06-30
Totals this cycle
Bars share one scale (raised = full). Cash on hand can include money carried over from earlier cycles.
Who gave
- Individuals $71K
- PACs & committees $250
- Own money & loans $9,000
Largest committee contributions
- Eureka Political Action Committee PAC$2,000
- Back the Bold PAC$1,000
Direct contributions only; outside spending is not included. Individual donors are itemized in the FEC’s receipts. All itemized receipts ↗ FEC filing ↗
Profile: /people/david-pan
Compare all 2 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.David Pan · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.About David Pan · David Pan for Congress Candidate's own words
- 3.U.S. House · California's 46th District results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 4.David Pan campaign website, quoted on Ballotpedia (2024) · David Pan for Congress (via Ballotpedia) Candidate's own words
- 5.Issues · David Pan for Congress Candidate's own words