Josh Lowenthal

Josh Lowenthal
Official portrait, 2022
Speaker pro tempore of the California State Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office December 2, 2024
Preceded by	Jim Wood
Member of the California State Assembly from the 69th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 5, 2022
Preceded by	Tom Daly
Personal details
Born	Joshua Alder Lowenthal (1970-02-15) February 15, 1970 (age 55) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Erika Lowenthal
Children	3
Relatives	Alan Lowenthal (father) Bonnie Lowenthal (mother)
Education	Cornell University (BA) University of California, San Diego (MA)

Joshua Alder Lowenthal (born February 15, 1970)^[1] is an American business executive and politician from California serving as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 69th district, based in Long Beach and Signal Hill. The son of politicians Bonnie and Alan Lowenthal, he was first elected in 2022 after a failed run for the State Assembly in 2018.

Early life and education

Lowenthal was born on February 15, 1970, in Long Beach, California, to Alan Lowenthal and Bonnie Lowenthal, and is Jewish.^[2] He attended Cornell University, where he became the student body president, and later attended the University of California, San Diego. Before becoming a politician like his parents, he worked as a teacher and as a businessman who owned restaurants and a conference calling company. Prior to running for State Assembly, Lowenthal did community work, considering a run for a school board.^[3]

Political career

In 2018, Lowenthal ran for the California State Assembly as the sole Democratic candidate for the 72nd district. The seat became open when the incumbent Assemblymember, Travis Allen opted to run for governor in lieu of reelection.^[4][5] Lowenthal faced Republican Tyler Diep in the general election. Diep was accused of using anti-Semitic imagery against Lowenthal during the campaign. Diep's campaign denied allegations of manipulating images to depict Lowenthal as stereotypically Jewish, but Diep later apologized about the mailers.^[2][6] Lowenthal lost to Diep by 8 points.^[7]

He ran for State Assembly again in 2022 in the newly-redrawn 69th district after incumbent Patrick O'Donnell announced his retirement.^[8] Lowenthal placed first and faced off against Long Beach councilman Al Austin, and defeated Austin in the general election.^[9][10]

Electoral history

2018 California State Assembly 72nd district election^[11][12]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Lowenthal	34,462	36.8
	Republican	Tyler Diep	27,825	29.7
	Republican	Greg Haskin	19,199	20.5
	Republican	Long Pham	7,692	8.2
	Republican	Richard Laird	4,555	5.0
Total votes			93,733	100.0
General election
	Republican	Tyler Diep	83,221	51.6
	Democratic	Josh Lowenthal	78,080	48.4
Total votes			161,301	100.0
	Republican hold

2022 California State Assembly 69th district election^[13][14]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Lowenthal	30,919	45.6
	Democratic	Al Austin II	17,985	26.5
	Democratic	Janet Denise Foster	12,790	18.9
	Democratic	Merry Taheri	6,052	8.9
Total votes			67,746	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Josh Lowenthal	62,582	58.9
	Democratic	Al Austin II	43,686	41.1
Total votes			106,268	100.0
	Democratic hold

2024 California State Assembly 69th district election^[15][16]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Lowenthal (incumbent)	54,782	68.0
	Republican	Joshua Rodriguez	25,755	32.0
Total votes			80,537	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Josh Lowenthal (incumbent)	120,340	68.4
	Republican	Joshua Rodriguez	55,595	31.6
Total votes			175,935	100.0
	Democratic hold

References

1. Parker, Sue (March 2023). "The Assembly List of MEMBERS, OFFICERS, COMMITTEES AND THE RULES" (PDF). California State Assembly.
2. Vega, Priscella (November 1, 2018). "Assembly candidate Tyler Diep's campaign is accused of using anti-Semitic images to attack opponent Josh Lowenthal". Los Angeles Times.
3. Kimitch, Rebecca (August 10, 2013). "Politics could pit Lowenthals against one another". Los Angeles Daily News.
4. Kopetman, Roxana (June 5, 2018). "Incumbents, Lowenthal lead in California Assembly races". The Orange County Register.
5. "Political Landscape: Council candidate forums set in Newport and Huntington". Los Angeles Times. August 17, 2018.
6. Vega, Priscella (July 3, 2019). "Assemblyman Tyler Diep apologizes for campaign materials that offended the Jewish community". Los Angeles Times.
7. Money, Luke (November 7, 2018). "Diep wins 72nd Assembly District seat, while Harper and Petrie-Norris remain locked in tight race in 74th". Los Angeles Times.
8. Saltgaver, Harry (January 6, 2022). "Josh Lowenthal, son of Long Beach congressman, throws hat in ring for 69th Assembly District". Press-Telegram.
9. Saltgaver, Harry (June 7, 2022). "Election 2022: Josh Lowenthal, Long Beach Councilman Al Austin set for November runoff in race for 69th Assembly District". Press-Telegram.
10. Saltgaver, Harry (October 3, 2022). "Election 2022: Al Austin, Josh Lowenthal face off for state Assembly seat on Nov. 8". Press-Telegram.
11. "June 5, 2018, Statewide Direct Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
12. "November 6, 2018, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
13. "Primary Election - Statement of the Vote, June 7, 2022" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
14. "General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022 - State Assembly" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
15. "March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
16. "November 5, 2024, General Election - State Assemblymember" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved October 10, 2025.

California Assembly
Preceded by Jim Wood	Speaker pro tempore of the California Assembly 2024–present	Incumbent