1996Flipped from RepublicanFinal results
1996 election for California's 22nd District
U.S. House · California
Walter Capps (D) won with 48.4% of the vote, defeating Andrea Seastrand (R) by 4.2 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Walter CappsDemocrat · winner
48.4%118,299
Andrea SeastrandRepublican
44.2%107,987
Steven WheelerIndependent
4.0%9,845
Richard D. "dick" PorterReform
1.6%3,975
David L. BersohnLibertarian
0.9%2,233
Dawn TomastikNatural Law
0.8%1,847
244,186 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1996
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Walter CappsAndrea Seastrand
$962.6K
Raised by the campaign
$1.3M
$904.8K
Spent by the campaign
$1.2M
$58.5K
Cash on hand
$24.1K
Other candidates' campaigns: Richard D. "dick" Porter $103.3K · Steven Wheeler $69.3K.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1996.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1996
The candidates
Walter Capps (D)Andrea Seastrand (R)
Also on the ballot: Steven Wheeler (Independent), 4.0%; Richard D. "dick" Porter (Reform), 1.6%; David L. Bersohn (Libertarian), 0.9%; Dawn Tomastik (Natural Law), 0.8%