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Brian Burley offers a youthful conservative approach to 42nd District race

June 25, 2026

As in sports, every political party needs a farm team. A top prospect for Republicans is Brian Burley, 33, running for the U.S. House of Representatives against incumbent Democrat Robert Garcia, 48, in the 42nd District. He finished second to Garcia in the June 2 top-two primary, with third place going to Republican Newport Beach Mayor Pro Tem Noah Von Blom.

I talked to Burley as he was driving to the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, where he’s been employed as a systems administrator since 2020. From USC, he earned his bachelor’s degree in political economy and three master’s degrees. Like me, he grew up in Michigan but fell in love with Huntington Beach. He’s now a trustee for the Huntington Beach City School District.

“My name’s been out there more, through a bigger part of the district,” Burley said of his showing.

This is Burley’s third try, after losing primary attempts for Congress in 2020 and 2022. “The higher turnout really helped this time,” he said. Primary turnouts for the 42nd District were just 23.8% in 2024, but 42.5% on June 2.

The gerrymandering of last year’s Proposition 50 also scrambled the game. Surf City used to be in the 47th District, which in 2024 barely was won, 51% to 49%, by Democratic Rep. Dave Min over Republican Scott Baugh. The gerrymandering moved the 47th south to include more of Irvine, a liberal college town.

The 42nd currently stretches from Long Beach up through Downey. The new 42nd kept liberal Long Beach, where Garcia was mayor, but moved down to devour more conservative Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.

In the June 2 primary, Garcia garnered 54.5% to 21.5% for Burley, 17.7% for Von Blom and 5.1% for Republican Long Pham. In total, Republicans got just over 44% of the vote.

On the issues, reflecting his education and technology background, Burley argues that more should be done to prevent the proliferation of abusive deepfakes involving students and teachers. He said the top AI companies should establish a “point of contact” with each school district to help take down the fakes.

Burley also favors such Republican policies as cutting taxes, regulations and waste. “I support releasing the remaining Epstein Files, while safeguarding the identities and privacy of victims who were exploited,” he said. “Anyone who committed crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

That’s similar to Garcia. As the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Garcia gained national attention for spearheading the investigation into the files. On June 11, he charged, “We have been fighting the White House cover-up for months.” He requested bringing Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials before the Republican-run committee.

Burley’s stance on the files might bring down the wrath of President Donald Trump, 80. On May 19, libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican primary in Kentucky after Trump opposed him for pushing the release of the files and opposing the Iran War. Establishment Republicans blew nearly $19 million opposing Massie with a Boomer candidate, Ed Gallrein. That money could have helped Burley and other Republicans this November.

A Big Data Poll found 82% of Republican voters age 18 to 29 supported Massie, while 62% of those 66 to 75 backed Gallrein. The generation gap shows the GOP must look to youth to win the future.

On the Iran War, Garcia in April said it “has no objective and no mission. We should be focused on making healthcare, groceries, and housing more affordable, not bombing foreign nations with no plan.”

Burley was noncommittal. “I think it was inevitable that we were going to have a conflict with them one way or another,” he said. “And Trump has information that probably shows that we have to keep them from getting a nuclear weapon.”

If Burley will have any chance in November, he should hope the current Memorandum of Understanding with Iran holds so gasoline and other prices keep dropping.

Republicans need to wake up and start supporting young candidates like Burley, with new solutions to new problems.

John Seiler is on the SCNG Editorial Board

Orange County Register

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Brian Burley offers a youthful conservative approach to 42nd District race

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