Marin's Huffman draws 4 rivals in race for Congress

U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, running to keep the congressional seat he's held for nearly 12 years, has drawn four opponents in the March 5 primary.

The race's winner in November will represent California's 2nd Congressional District, which stretches along the coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

Huffman, a Democrat who lives in San Rafael, said he has more work to do in Washington, D.C.

“Up and down this spectacular district, I've got underserved, rural communities, Native American tribes and all sorts of other places that need access and productivity from their representative in Congress,” he said during an Independent Journal editorial board meeting with most of the District 2 candidates. “I've been able to do that and I want to do that for two more years.”

Two Republicans and two independents are challenging Huffman. Chris Coulombe, a Republican who lives in Sebastopol, is a retired Army captain who went into the cannabis industry and co-founded the Cannabis Distribution Association. Tief Gibbs, a Republican who lives in Novato, is the co-owner of a vehicle business and a former candidate for the Novato Unified School District board. The independent candidates, both from Humboldt County, are internet entrepreneur Jason Brisendine

and automotive business owner Jolian Kangas.

Under California's election system, the congressional candidates who finish first and second in the March primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of party affiliation. Brisendine argues that this system subverts democracy.

“The system is going to be used by Jared Huffman to eliminate his strongest opponent before the election even happens,” he said during an interview with the editorial board. He declined to be quoted further, and issued a statement after the meeting criticizing the newspaper.

Gibbs describes herself as the only “real” conservative candidate in the race. She noted that she protested school campus lockdowns and vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It's not that hard to talk about them now,” Gibbs said about those issues. “I talked about them when it was hard to do so, and that shows leadership.”

Coulombe is emphasizing his background as a military officer and a former research fellow for a foreign policy think tank.

“Many of us can see we are on a steady march toward World War III,” he said. “I say that as someone who spent my life in the military, served in think tanks and has an understanding of what is happening at a macro scale.”

Kangas said: “I want to represent people in the North