FEATURED VIDEO: Jeff Frese for Congress — campaign footage supplied through a public YouTube link. This is campaign-produced material, not independently produced footage by California58. Open the original video on YouTube.
MORAGA / CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, California — November 5, 2026. Republican congressional candidate Jeff Frese says his campaign for California’s 10th Congressional District may be over, but his effort to change federal tax policy for teachers is not. In an exclusive written interview with California58, Frese discussed his family’s connection to public education, the cost of campaigning without major donors, his interpretation of the November 3 election, and why he wants more attention paid to the district’s smaller and rural communities.
Frese, a small-business owner from Moraga, ran against Democratic incumbent Mark DeSaulnier. The Associated Press has called the race for DeSaulnier. In the unofficial count published early November 4, DeSaulnier had 131,901 votes (69.1%) to Frese’s 59,082 (30.9%). The figures are not certified; additional valid ballots can still be counted. The race call and official certification are separate processes.
WATCH | Jeff Frese on congressional term limits
Campaign video published October 2, 2026, on the Jeff Frese for Congress YouTube channel. The video criticizes incumbent Mark DeSaulnier’s record and advocates term limits. These are the candidate’s claims, not findings by California58. Watch on YouTube.
What Frese says in his featured campaign video
In the featured video, Frese challenges the practice of voting for a party’s candidates without examining their records. His recurring phrase is “Vote blue no matter who” — a criticism directed at habitual Democratic voting, rather than a neutral description of how voters actually make their decisions.
At approximately 0:19–0:31, Frese argues that politicians should have to earn each vote. At 0:32–0:55, he criticizes Mark DeSaulnier’s legislative record, claiming that only two of more than 200 bills became public laws and that federal funding secured for the district amounted to $7 per resident per year. These are Frese’s campaign claims, not independently established findings. The number of bills sponsored that became law is not a complete measure of a legislator’s work: amendments, co-sponsored legislation, committee work, constituent services and appropriations can also matter. The $7 figure requires a defined timeframe and funding methodology before it can be evaluated. Readers can inspect DeSaulnier’s congressional record and federal spending data separately.
Frese also asserts that California ranks first in crime, homelessness, unaffordability and outward migration, and near the bottom in school quality. Those broad rankings depend on the year, dataset and measurement; California58 does not present them as verified statewide rankings. In the video’s closing minute, Frese asks voters to hold him accountable too — a notable point given that the election ultimately favored the incumbent.
“I got them at the kitchen table”
Asked why he decided to run, Frese connected his political priorities to his family. His mother worked as a nurse, his father was a teacher, and his sisters teach, he told California58.
“I didn’t get my ideas from a party. I got them at the kitchen table.”
His central proposal is to exempt teachers from federal income tax. He also favors congressional term limits and a prohibition on stock trading by members of Congress. These are Frese’s policy positions, not existing federal law. Exempting a profession from federal income tax would require legislation and would raise questions about eligibility, fiscal cost and how lost revenue would be offset. Frese did not provide a detailed legislative text or a budgetary offset in his email response.
Nights, weekends and a small-business campaign
Frese said that since December he had campaigned mostly on nights and weekends while continuing to operate a small business. His biggest challenge, he said, was reaching voters in a district where Democrats have a substantial electoral advantage. He described personally responding to messages from residents and using email and text outreach.
He said voters raised concerns about gasoline prices, housing and whether their children could afford to remain in California. Frese also said his campaign stayed below the $5,000 federal reporting threshold through the October 14 pre-general reporting period and had no PAC or major-donor funding. Those are his descriptions of campaign finances; a complete independent accounting requires examination of applicable Federal Election Commission records, including any post-election filings. The campaign website describes a low-budget digital outreach strategy.
WATCH | Frese’s campaign message on girls’ sports
Campaign video published September 30, 2026, on Jeff Frese for Congress. Frese criticizes DeSaulnier’s votes on legislation concerning participation in girls’ and women’s sports. The video reflects the campaign’s framing; legislative context and the precise bills should be reviewed separately. Watch on YouTube.
What the two additional campaign videos argue
Congressional term limits and ethics: In the video titled “35 years in office, two laws. Term limits now,” Frese advocates term limits, restrictions on members of Congress trading individual stocks, and limits on the movement of former lawmakers into lobbying. He argues that long congressional careers can weaken accountability. At approximately 0:31–1:03, he links government spending and monetary policy to inflation and affordability. That causal account is his political argument, not a complete economic analysis. His claim that 90% of Americans favor congressional term limits also needs a specified poll and methodology; it should not be presented as an established statistic without one.
Girls’ and women’s sports: In a separate September 30 video, Frese criticizes DeSaulnier over votes concerning participation in girls’ and women’s sports. The recording begins with a rhetorical question and alleges that the incumbent opposed protecting girls’ sports on two occasions. At approximately 0:38–1:10, Frese broadens his criticism to California crime, housing, migration and education. These are partisan campaign assertions. A fair evaluation of the legislative allegation requires checking the 2023 House roll-call record, the relevant 2025 roll-call record, the complete bill texts, and DeSaulnier’s stated reasoning. A vote against a particular bill does not by itself prove that a legislator supports every outcome a campaign advertisement attributes to that vote.
California58 includes these videos because they are primary-source evidence of what the candidate said and advocated. Their inclusion is not an endorsement of the videos’ claims or a statement that the campaign’s interpretations are independently verified.
How Frese reads his nearly 60,000 votes
Frese acknowledged the large preliminary margin separating him from DeSaulnier. He also said that Democrats and independent voters had written to him expressing support for his education and congressional-ethics proposals. These messages, as described by the candidate, are not a representative survey of voters, and California58 has not independently verified their number or contents.
Frese believes the result demonstrates interest in some of his proposals beyond Republican voters. But the ballots do not identify why each person voted for him. DeSaulnier’s commanding lead also matters: the preliminary results show that most participating District 10 voters chose the incumbent.
What happens to his proposal now?
Frese said he intends to keep advocating for eliminating federal income tax on teachers, even though he will not be entering Congress after this election. He hopes lawmakers from both parties will consider the idea. His suggested measure of progress is whether a bill is introduced and whether DeSaulnier supports it.
That is a concrete political objective, but it is not yet a funded legislative plan. Congress would need to define who qualifies as a teacher, how the exemption works, and how federal revenue would be affected. California58 will distinguish any future introduced bill from a campaign proposal or public appeal.
Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen and Discovery Bay
Frese specifically named Brentwood, Oakley, Byron, Knightsen and Discovery Bay when asked what California should learn from the election. He argued that smaller and less urban communities in the district deserve more attention from state and federal officials. This is one reason his response is especially relevant to California58’s local reporting network: those communities have distinct concerns, and some are unincorporated areas without their own elected mayor.
His broader criticism of long-serving politicians and Democratic control of California is a political argument, not a conclusion adopted by this newspaper. Residents can evaluate that claim against DeSaulnier’s legislative record, constituent services and the election returns. The Congress.gov record for DeSaulnier provides an independent starting point for reviewing his congressional activity.
Who is Jeff Frese?
Frese describes himself as a husband, father, coach and business owner. His campaign website says he built a snack brand from his kitchen and later ran consumer businesses. The California Secretary of State’s 2026 primary candidate notice identifies him as a Republican candidate and small-business owner for District 10. His Ballotpedia candidate profile provides additional biographical information and a candidate questionnaire.
Where to find the candidate online
Frese provided the following campaign channels directly to California58: official campaign website; X / @VoteFrese; Facebook / @freseforcongress; Instagram / @freseforcongress; and Reddit / r/FreseForCongress. These addresses reflect the channels identified by the candidate; readers should verify the account identity and current availability before relying on any social-media post.
An interview offered to candidates regardless of the result
California58 invited Frese to answer five questions by email as part of its effort to hear from candidates whether they win or lose. He replied on November 5 and explicitly agreed to provide answers on the record. The responses in this article are attributed to him; election totals, candidacy and other verifiable context were checked separately. California58 has also invited other candidates to participate and does not endorse Frese or DeSaulnier.
Editor’s note: Jeff Frese answered California58’s written interview on November 5, 2026. Quotations are from his email response; campaign claims are identified as such. Election figures reflect the November 4 unofficial count, not final certification. A photograph from the candidate’s campaign website is included with source attribution; the photographer credit and republication authorization have been requested. Three campaign-produced videos are embedded with editorial context, and the claims made in them are attributed to Frese rather than adopted as verified facts.
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