Harley Rouda both brings money to the conversation and is a moderate. He is the son of a Columbus, Ohio real estate magnate. Harley was the CEO of the real estate conglomerate. He consolidated firms from Kentucky to northern Ohio. He is also a former attorney who specialized in capital formation. In this predominantly Republican district, the DCCC wanted the more moderate Democrat as its top vote getter. Rouda was the candidate the DCCC supported.

A law professor at the University of California - Irvine, Katie Porter has credentials to spare. She is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, a protegee of two of the most powerful women in the country -- Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Kamala Harris of California. At Harvard Law School, she was Elizabeth Warren's student. She worked for Kamala Harris when Harris was California's Attorney General. Like both of them, Porter is a consumer advocate.