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JEFF DENHAM & THE CENTRAL VALLEY
Days before the 2018 election, Jeff Denham was at his Turlock home getting ready to knock on doors with his wife, Sonia, and campaign volunteers. Their dog Lily came along. A congressional race drawing national attention was also unfolding on familiar neighborhood streets. The Journal’s November 2018 campaign report captured that morning.
Yes, Denham lived in Turlock during his congressional career. The 2014 Congressional Directory identified him as a Republican “of Turlock.” His connection to town also included a reusable-container business on D Street, school visits and arguments over the water and rail projects serving this part of the Valley. Those records establish his residence then; they do not confirm his current home city.
Jeff Denham at a glance
- California State Senate: District 12, 2002–2010.
- U.S. House: January 3, 2011–January 3, 2019; four terms.
- Congressional districts: District 19 for his first term, then District 10 after redistricting.
- 2018 election: Defeated by Democrat Josh Harder.
- Later work: Public-policy advocacy and a Spring 2024 Harvard fellowship.
The House’s official biography records his state and federal service; JoinCalifornia lists his elections and district changes.
From the Air Force to the California Senate
Denham was born in Hawthorne in 1967. He attended Atascadero High School and graduated from Morro Bay High in 1985, later earning an associate degree at Victor Valley Junior College and a bachelor’s degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His school years were outside Turlock.
He served in the Air Force from 1984–1988 and in the Reserve from 1988–2000. A biography submitted for a 2014 congressional hearing describes service in Desert Storm and Restore Hope, followed by work in agriculture and business. He entered the California Senate in 2002, representing District 12.
The recall that divided Turlock City Hall
Before his congressional campaigns, Denham survived an attempt to remove him from the State Senate. The 2008 recall followed a state-budget dispute; Senate leader Don Perata supported the campaign after Denham refused to provide a vote for the 2007 budget. Perata withdrew his support before election day, but the recall remained on the ballot. Contemporary ABC30 coverage described the political fight.
Turlock’s own council debated taking a side. At the April 22, 2008 meeting, Mayor John Lazar favored opposing the recall but suggested a letter to the press. Councilmember Beverly Hatcher objected to the city adopting a partisan position. Kurt Vander Weide and Ted Howze moved a formal anti-recall resolution.
The resolution failed 2–3, with Lazar, Hatcher and Kurt Spycher voting against it. The original council minutes, pages 3–4 record both the debate and the vote.
Denham kept his seat. In the June 3 election, 75.36% voted against the recall and 24.64% favored removal, according to the Secretary of State’s final canvass.
A Turlock home and a D Street business
The “businessman” description on Denham’s campaign material had a specific local connection. In September 2018, the Journal reported that Denham Plastics had expanded its Salinas-based operation into a 200,000-square-foot facility on D Street in Turlock. The business distributed reusable plastic containers and pallets.
The expansion placed it among companies using Turlock’s older downtown industrial district, where rail access and agricultural processing had long shaped development. The report also described break-ins affecting businesses there, including Denham’s. That was a 2018 account of the facility; the company’s present website lists its headquarters in Salinas.
Agriculture was part of his personal background, too. A 2009 San Francisco Chronicle report identified the family’s almond ranch in Merced County.
Four terms in Congress, with a changing district
Denham won a House seat in 2010 and took office in January 2011. His first term was in California’s 19th District. After new district boundaries took effect, he represented the 10th from 2013–2019, including Turlock and other Stanislaus and San Joaquin County communities. The district number changed while he remained in Congress.
His reelection contests brought very different challengers. In 2012 he defeated José Hernández, the former astronaut. In 2014 and 2016 he faced Michael Eggman, a farmer with Turlock ties. The second Eggman race was much closer than the first:
- 2012: Denham 110,265 votes; Hernández 98,934. Official California results.
- 2014: Denham 70,582; Eggman 55,123. Federal Election Commission results.
- 2016: Denham 124,671; Eggman 116,470—a 51.70%–48.30% result. Final federal results.
Don Pedro, water storage and the cost of federal decisions
For Turlock, some of Denham’s most relevant congressional work involved the water system behind the farms and city. In a November 2017 House debate, he named Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts while criticizing the length and expense of the federal relicensing process for Don Pedro. His argument was that delays imposed costs on district ratepayers.
Don Pedro supplies water and power through Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District. His criticism addressed the federal process for renewing its hydroelectric license. Read the Don Pedro history for the two dams and the districts’ role in building them.
In 2018, Denham and Democratic Rep. Jim Costa supported federal water-financing provisions aimed at projects such as storage, recycling and desalination. GV Wire’s coverage explained the bipartisan effort. The broader America’s Water Infrastructure Act became law that October.
High-speed rail, commuter trains—and Lily
Denham chaired the House subcommittee overseeing railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials. He became a prominent critic of California high-speed rail, but his January 2014 hearing statement included a detail that is easy to miss: he said he had voted for the 2008 high-speed-rail proposition in the State Senate. He later argued that the project’s costs and financing had departed from the assurances he supported.
He also spoke favorably about commuter rail. In the Journal’s reporting on potential Turlock service, he described trains as a way to reduce freeway congestion. His criticism of the state high-speed project left room for supporting commuter trains serving Valley residents. The local service discussed in that article was still being planned.
There was a smaller passenger-rail issue in his record as well. Denham pushed to allow small pets on Amtrak, with Lily, his French bulldog, part of the story. Associated Press reporting carried by PBS described his efforts. Today’s Amtrak pet rules remain route-specific. For trips from the Turlock area, our transit-center and Denair station guide covers the practical connections.
Immigration: a military-service proposal and a House revolt
Denham’s immigration work included the ENLIST Act. His 2017 proposal, H.R. 60, would have allowed certain otherwise-qualified undocumented immigrants who arrived before age 15 to enlist in the military, with a route to permanent residence through honorable service. It did not become law.
In May 2018, Denham, Carlos Curbelo and Will Hurd helped pursue a discharge petition to force immigration votes despite opposition from Republican leadership. Contemporary reporting and Rep. Pete Aguilar’s announcement show lawmakers from both parties joining the effort to bring proposals to a floor vote.
The health-care vote that drew angry questions
Health care became a conspicuous point of conflict with constituents. At an April 2017 town hall in Denair, Denham said he opposed an earlier version of the Republican health-care bill. He then supported the amended American Health Care Act when it passed the House in May.
At a subsequent Riverbank meeting, constituents challenged him about preexisting conditions and the affordability of high-risk insurance pools. Denham defended the revised bill and argued that more insurance coverage had not solved the Valley’s shortage of doctors willing to accept Medi-Cal. KQED’s reporting from the meeting gives both the questions and his responses.
The House-passed bill did not become law.
Veterans, a Turlock High teacher and the work of an office
Denham sponsored the Veteran Skills to Jobs Act, signed by President Barack Obama in July 2012. It required federal licensing authorities to consider relevant military training when evaluating qualifications. The purpose was to help veterans avoid repeating training they had already received.
There was a local staffing connection, too. In January 2017, Turlock Army veteran Peter Butler, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, joined Denham’s Modesto office through the Wounded Warrior Program. He became a liaison to veterans and veterans’ organizations, according to the Journal’s account.
Denham also recognized Turlock High agriculture teacher Chad Russell for his fifth Instructor Sweepstakes Award at the California State Fair. The September 2013 Congressional Record tribute was followed by a presentation at the school.
The 2018 defeat
Josh Harder defeated Denham in November 2018. The final federal tally was 115,945 votes for Harder and 105,955 for Denham, or 52.25%–47.75%. The margin was 9,990 votes across the district.
Early results had put Denham ahead. As additional ballots were counted, the lead changed, as the Journal’s November updates documented. His defeat ended four House terms; Harder took the seat in January 2019.
After Congress
Denham continued working in public-policy advocacy. Dentons announced his appointment as a senior policy director in February 2023, and its current professional profile lists him in its Washington public-policy practice.
He was also a Spring 2024 resident fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, leading a study group about how Congress functions and where it breaks down.
More Turlock history · John Lazar · Turlock Irrigation District · Don Pedro Dam
