Steve Kuykendall
The Republican Incumbent: California's 36th
Congressional District

Republican Steve Kuykendall has represented California's 36th congressional district since 1998. The freshman Congressman is considered fairly centrist and a social moderate, having supported some abortion rights and gun control legislation. He is also in favor of campaign finance reform and ending soft money campaign contributions. Kuykendall, who served in Vietnam and represents a district heavily dependent on the defense industry, sits on the Armed Services Committee. He is also on the Science and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees.

Kuykendall, 53, began his political career in 1992 when he was elected to the city council of Rancho Palos Verdes on the 36th district's upscale Palos Verdes Peninsula. He served a term as mayor and in 1994 won a seat in the California Assembly. During his first of two terms in the assembly he served as Republican Whip and developed his moderate reputation on issues like banning assault weapons.

In 1998, Kuykendall's current opponent, Democrat Jane Harman, left her 36th district seat of three terms to run for governor. Harman, who had worked with Kuykendall in the past, personally notified him of her decision. Kuykendall campaigned for her seat and won, edging Democratic businesswoman Janice Hahn in the general election 49 to 47 percent.

An Oklahoma native, Kuykendall earned an economics degrees from Oklahoma City University and later a master's of business administration from San Diego State University. In between he was commissioned as a Marine Corps Lieutenant and served two tours of duty in Vietnam starting in 1968. He eventually rose to the rank of Captain and retired in 1973 with a shoulder injury. Kuykendall then embarked on a commercial and mortgage banking career, founding and serving as president of Lockheed Mortgage Corporation, a subsidiary of Lockheed Corporation. He was also a principal at David Buxton Financial Corporation. Kuykendall and his wife Jan have three children.