• 84.2% to 15.6%: Simon's June 2 primary margin over Joyce, 153,190 votes to 28,372, per Ballotpedia. A Republican write-in drew 279.
  • $1,703,906 vs. $69,669: receipts reported to the Federal Election Commission as of Oct. 14, per Ballotpedia's FEC table. Simon had $725,757 in cash on hand; Joyce had $5,258.
  • 2: Democrats on the Nov. 3 ballot. The certified list shows Simon as U.S. Representative and Joyce as Nonprofit Executive Director.

The district

The 12th District is Barbara Lee's former seat. Joyce's own ballot biography, published by Ballotpedia, lists Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Albany, Emeryville, Piedmont and San Leandro as its communities.

The challenger's pitch

Joyce, who lives in Berkeley, says the rules for the AI age are being written now and the district needs a representative who understands them. Her biography says she has led AI teams, spent nearly a decade building tech tools to help governments make policy, and helped the Internet Archive launch its government records collection. She says she respects Simon's civil rights and oversight work but argues for "affirmative AI legislation" and aggressive checks on the executive branch.

The incumbent

Simon, a first-term member and longtime Bay Area community organizer, is running for a second term. The Oakland Review of Books, an opinionated local voting guide, endorses her and calls her "well-positioned" and "uncontroversial," while dismissing Joyce's sprawling legislative platform, which it describes as a 750-plus-page omnibus bill of AI, anti-ICE and anti-surveillance ideas.

Why it's a rematch

California's top-two primary sends the two leading vote-getters to November regardless of party. With only a write-in Republican in June, both finalists are Democrats.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.

More races and measures: our 2026 election hub.