Josh Harder


Joshua Keck Harder is an American politician and venture capital investor, who has been serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 10th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Jeff Denham in the 2018 election.

Early life and education

Harder was born in Turlock, California; he graduated from Modesto High School. He earned political science and economics undergraduate degrees from Stanford University, as well as a joint MBA/MPP from Harvard Business School and Kennedy School of Government.

Private career

In 2014, Harder was hired by Bessemer Venture Partners working in their New York office. He moved back to San Francisco and became a vice president with the company. In 2017, he left his job at Bessemer to campaign full-time. Harder moved back to Turlock and taught business at Modesto Junior College.

U.S. House of Representatives

Harder has represented California's 10th congressional district since the 2018 congressional elections.

2018 election

In May 2017, Harder announced his candidacy, joining three other Democrats to challenge Republican Jeff Denham, who had represented the 10th district since 2013 and previously represented the 19th district from 2011 to 2013. As a result of California's top-two primary system, Denham and Harder advanced to the general election ballot, with Denham finishing first with 37.5% of the primary vote, and Harder finishing second with 16.7% of the primary vote.
California's 10th district was included on the list of Republican-held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018. On election night and for the days following the election, Denham held a lead in the reported results. On November 9, Harder pulled ahead in the absentee ballot tallying. Days later, news outlets projected Harder's victory, and on November 14, Denham conceded.

Committee assignments

Harder and his wife, Pamela, met as undergraduate students at Stanford University. They were married in 2018.

Election history