Josh Lowenthal

Joshua Alder Lowenthal (born February 15, 1970) is an American business executive and politician from California serving as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 69th district. 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. 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 California State Assembly, Lowenthal did community work, considering a run for a school board.

Political career
In 2018, Lowenthal ran for the California State Assembly as the sole Democratic candidate in the 72nd district, facing Republican Tyler Diep in the general election in over to replace incumbent Travis Allen. During the campaign, Diep was accused for using anti-Semitic imagery targeting Lowenthal. Diep's campaign denied allegations of manipulating images to depict Lowenthal as stereotypically Jewish, but Diep later apologized about the mailers. In the general election, Lowenthal lost to Diep by 8 points.

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