Chris Duncan

Chris Duncan is the Democratic candidate for California State Senate District 36 in the November 3, 2026 general election, running against incumbent Republican Tony Strickland.[1][3] A tariff and customs attorney and former federal prosecutor, he served on the San Clemente City Council from 2020 to 2024, including a term as mayor, according to his Ballotpedia survey responses.[2]

Chris Duncan earned a bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1997, a J.D. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa's William S. Richardson School of Law in 2000 and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2002.[1] His career experience includes working as a senior attorney at U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, as a special assistant U.S. attorney and as a business owner.[1] In a 2026 Ballotpedia survey, Duncan said he resigned from the Trump administration in 2019 in protest of the family separation policy.[2]

In the survey, Duncan said he served on the San Clemente City Council from 2020 to 2024 and as mayor from 2022 to 2023, and described himself as the first Democrat elected in the city's history.[2] He ran for the California State Assembly in 2020, 2022 and 2024, losing the 2024 general election in District 74 to incumbent Republican Laurie Davies, 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent.[1] Duncan said in the survey that he and his wife are raising three children who attend local public schools; Ballotpedia lists him as involved with the Vista Del Mar Elementary School Site Council.[1][2]

In the survey, Duncan named lowering the cost of living, including challenging utility and insurance rate increases, expanding housing production, public safety and protecting the coast and environment as his policy priorities.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.