New GOP congressional candidate wants to have a ‘candid conversation’ on middle-class issues

Matt Gunderson doesn’t believe the current political system is “solving California’s problems.” And for that reason, the Republican businessman is running for Congress, vying for the seat held by Democratic Rep. Mike Levin.

A Ladera Ranch resident, Gunderson lost a state Senate bid last year. His congressional bid, he said, is “an opportunity to continue a candid conversation about how we solve the problems that face middle-class Californians every day.”

“It’s never been about getting Matt Gunderson elected to political office,” Gunderson said. “There’s something in my DNA that values public service and getting people with a common sense perspective on the ballot, giving people a choice for change.”

Originally from rural Wisconsin, Gunderson moved to California a little over two decades ago — and he maintains the state is different today than it was when he moved 23 years ago.

“That starts with the cost of living affordability,” Gunderson said. “It’s an incredibly onerous place to start a business and create jobs. There are other areas of the country that are beckoning our people, and we should not live in a state where our children and our grandchildren are forced to leave because they can’t afford to be here.”

Gunderson, who recently retired, opened his first auto dealership in Orange County in 2000, eventually opening two more in Mission Viejo.

Goals to lower taxes and curb crime, too, will be at the forefront of his campaign, Gunderson said. He will also focus on environmental and veterans’ needs since the district runs along the California coastline and encompasses Camp Pendleton.

Voter registration in the district, which spans northern San Diego County as well as parts of Orange County, stands at 36.5% Democrat, 33.21% Republican and roughly 20% no party preference.

CA-49 is one of several California seats eyed by Republicans’ congressional campaign arm. On Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee launched a five-figure digital ad campaign targeting 35 House Democrats it views as vulnerable, including Levin.

First elected in 2018 — after longtime Republican incumbent Darrell Issa originally decided not to seek reelection — Levin is serving his third term in Congress. A San Juan Capistrano resident, Levin’s priorities have included climate change, veterans’ issues and natural resource protections.

In 2022, Levin defeated his Republican challenger Brian Maryott by about 5%.

“Next year’s congressional elections will be competitive, and we are ready to take on whoever advances past the primary,” Levin said.

Gunderson lost to Sen. Catherine Blakespear in the 38th Senate district contest last year, 52.2% to 47.8%. Both contenders were top fundraisers in the state Senate elections, each raising several million dollars.

“We knew it would be an uphill battle,” Gunderson said. “Biden won that district by 16 percentage points (in 2020).”

But he said his team “stuck with it and climbed that mountain” because he wanted to give people a choice. Despite his loss in the general, Gunderson had come out on top in the primary — a feat he believes signifies that Southern California voters are “hungry for a perspective that says, ‘Hey, our system is broken,’” he said.

The debate in Washington, D.C., over the debt ceiling, for example, is an indicator of a “broken system,” Gunderson said.

“I don’t think the issues that face our country and California are going to be solved by the far right or the far left,” Gunderson said. “Politicians are so wrapped up in partisanship that they can’t sit down and talk about resolving the debt ceiling problem.”

Prior to last year’s election, Gunderson described his political philosophy as “common-sense, pragmatic conservative, results-oriented, transparent, candid and accessible.”

“When people say, ‘Are you conservative, liberal, etc.,’ I consider myself a futurist,” Gunderson said. “I consider myself somebody that looks at what is best for the future, for my children, for my grandchildren and certainly for the state of California and our entire country.”