Audrey Denney

Audrey Denney (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 1st Congressional District. She lost in the primary on June 2, 2026.

Denney (Democratic Party) also ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent California's 1st Congressional District. She lost in the special primary on June 2, 2026.

U.S. House California District 1 - Regular election

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Video submitted to BallotpediaReleased October 6, 2025

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m an educator, a nonprofit leader, and I grew up on a family farm. I’ve lived in Chico since 2003. I got both my degrees in agriculture from Chico State and I've taught at the university. I’ve also done international human rights work, and for the past five years I’ve been working with community organizations and food banks across the country.

I ran for this seat in 2018 and 2020 when this was a deep red seat, and have been organizing along side you for the last decade. I’m running now because people in this district, in our home, are working harder than ever and still can’t afford the basics. Housing, healthcare, groceries are all getting more expensive, while the Trump administration is asking for billions of dollars to fight illegal pointless wars, and corporate captured Republicans AND Democrats are making policy that benefits the corporations and richest among us instead of working class people.

I’ve never taken a dime of corporate PAC money, and I never will, because I believe this seat should belong to the people of this district, not to corporations or the interests that fund campaigns. I am the only candidate in this race who can say that.

Trust isn’t something you build overnight. You earn it by showing up, listening, and being accountable to the communities you’re asking to represent. This district deserves a representative who is rooted here, who has been doing the work here, and who will fight for the people who live here. That is how I will lead.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

For too long, politicians in both parties have protected the powerful and their own interests instead of working people.

I support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, banning corporate PAC money, full transparency in political spending, and a stock trading ban for members of Congress so public office is about service, not self-interest and profit. I’ll also fight to make sure billionaires and large corporations pay their fair share so our economy works for working families, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

Both my Democratic and MAGA Republican opponents have taken hundreds of thousands from corporate PACs and special interests, including 73 of the SAME corporate PACs. We deserve better.People in Northern California are being squeezed by the cost of groceries, healthcare, and basic necessities. I will take on corporate price gouging, lower prescription drug costs, and make sure healthcare is a guarantee for everyone, not just those who can afford it. I will also protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and veterans benefits because people who have worked hard and served our country should be able to live with dignity.

Being responsive to the needs of working class families means being accountable to them. While my opponents take corporate cash and cozy up to the special interests that continue raising our costs, I refuse corporate PAC money and will fight for you.I will stand up to authoritarian threats, defend our civil rights, and push back against attacks on immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ people, voting rights, and reproductive freedom. We need leaders willing to tell the truth, protect vulnerable people, and stand up to Donald Trump and MAGA extremism instead of caving to fear or political convenience.

I am not a career politician, and I don’t answer to party bosses or corporate donors. I’m running because too many people feel shut out of a political system built for insiders, the wealthy, and the well-connected. I will fight every day to make sure working-class people across Northern California have a real voice in Washington and a government that finally works for them.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Getting money & self-dealing out of politics and restoring trust in government: I'm committed to taking on corruption, corporate influence, and self-dealing so government works for working people, not wealthy insiders.

Lowering costs & protecting working families: I'll fight to lower healthcare and prescription drug costs, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, raise wages, and make sure working families can afford to live and thrive in Northern California.

Forest health, fire prevention, & climate action: I am an agricultural educator, and I will fight for large-scale investments in forest health, wildfire prevention, clean energy, and climate resilience that protect our communities while creating good-paying rural jobs.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, accountability, and courage are essential for anyone serving in public office. Elected officials should be honest with the people they represent, willing to stand up to powerful interests, and focused on improving people’s lives rather than advancing their own careers. I also believe empathy and responsiveness matter deeply. Leaders should listen to their communities, understand the real challenges people are facing, and make decisions rooted in service, fairness, and the public good, not corporate influence or political expediency.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility of a member of Congress is to serve the people of their district by improving their quality of life, protecting their rights, and ensuring their voices are represented in Washington. That means fighting for affordable healthcare, good-paying jobs, strong public schools, infrastructure, and economic opportunity, while also defending democracy and fundamental civil rights. It also means standing up to corruption, defending the Constitution, and fighting authoritarian drift at every turn.

Members of Congress should be accessible, accountable, and willing to put the needs of working people ahead of corporate donors, party leadership, or political ambition. This office is about public service, and it is too often used for personal and political gain.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Experience broadly in public service can be valuable, but I do not believe a political career should be a requirement for representation. Too often, career and establishment politicians are more concerned with their next political maneuver than they are with the experiences of the people they are supposed to serve. Our government works best when it includes people with real-world experience - educators, healthcare workers, farmers, small business owners, nonprofit leaders, veterans, and working people who understand the challenges their communities face because they’ve lived them.

But today, politics has become more of a career path reserved for the well-connected than a public service. We need leaders who are connected to everyday life, willing to challenge the status quo, and focused on solving problems rather than protecting their own position or political future. A healthy democracy should look like the people it represents.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support reasonable term limits for members of Congress and the Supreme Court, because public office should be about service, not building a lifelong political career. Term limits can help bring new voices and perspectives into government, reduce entrenched power, and make elected officials more accountable to the people they represent. At the same time, term limits should be paired with broader anti-corruption reforms like overturning Citizens United, banning corporate PAC money, and prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks while in office.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Our Revolution, EMILYs List, 314 Action Fund, Elect Democratic Women, Track AIPAC, National Women's Political Caucus, Lassen Indivisible, Indivisible Chico, Democratic Action Club of Chico, Progressive Democrats of America, Chico State Democrats, Rebellion PAC, Organize for Peace, Peace Action, Humboldt Progressive Democrats, Green Party of Sonoma County, Courage for Democracy, Roots Action, and Beyond the Ballot, and more.

What is an accomplishment that you are proud of?

I’m especially proud of helping build a real grassroots movement for change in a district that political insiders had written off for decades. When I first ran for Congress in 2018/2020, CA-01 was considered one of the reddest districts in California. Most people believed a Democrat could not compete here, and many national political operatives treated rural regions like ours as an afterthought.

But our campaign took a different approach. We showed up everywhere. We listened to people across the district, including in communities Democrats too often overlook. We built relationships, talked about issues that directly impact working families, and proved that rural voters want leaders who are accessible, authentic, and focused on improving people’s lives.

That work helped fundamentally shift the political landscape in Northern California. We helped energize new voters, strengthen local organizing infrastructure, and demonstrate that this district is competitive when people are actually given something to believe in. We reduced election margins to historic lows for a Democrat, even outperforming Gavin Newsom at the top of the ticket in 2018. We raised over $3.5 million without taking a dime of corporate PAC money, and with an average contribution size of $47.

Today, we have new maps that finally give North State communities a real opportunity to elect leadership that reflects their values and priorities. I’m proud that we never walked away from this district when it was difficult or politically inconvenient. We stayed, we organized, and we kept building. And now we have an opportunity not just to compete, but to win and deliver real results for working people across Northern California.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

One of the greatest challenges facing the United States is the growing gap between working people and the powerful interests that dominate our political and economic systems. Rising costs, housing insecurity, healthcare access, climate-driven disasters, political extremism, and attacks on civil rights are all connected to a system that too often prioritizes corporate profits and political power over people’s well-being.

We are also facing a crisis of trust in our institutions and democracy itself. Meeting these challenges will require bold leadership willing to confront corruption, invest in working families and rural communities, protect our democratic institutions, and build an economy that is more fair, resilient, and sustainable for future generations.

Audrey Denney did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.