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Adam Channing Gray (born September 23, 1977) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 13th congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the California State Assembly from 2012 to 2022, representing the 21st district, which includes all of Merced County and portions of Stanislaus County.
Gray is the whip of the Blue Dog Coalition. He lost his first bid for his congressional district in 2022 by a few hundred votes but won the seat in 2024 by a similar narrow margin. His district is located in the San Joaquin Valley, and includes all of Merced County and parts of Madera, Stanislaus, Fresno, and San Joaquin counties.
Gray went on to attend Merced College and then earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. While in school, he interned for congressman Gary Condit.
He was on the Committee for Accountability and Administrative Review, the Agriculture Committee, the Revenue and Taxation Committee and the Select Committee on Health Care Access in Rural Communities. Gray was also a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management and chairman of the Governmental Organization Committee.
While in the state assembly, Gray founded the Bipartisanship Problem Solvers Caucus which worked across party lines to pass legislation. He was involved in securing $3 billion for water storage in the Central Valley and helped bring funding for a new medical school at UC Merced. Gray broke with his party on several water policy issues, pushing back against Democratic proposals to cut water supplies to irrigation districts in the San Joaquin Valley. As a result of his opposition to proposed limits on water flows, he was removed from his chairmanship of the Government Organization Committee by the assembly leader.
In 2014, Gray supported Merced and Stanislaus counties as a potential site for Tesla Motors' multibillion-dollar "Giga-Factory".
In August 2024, the Los Angeles Times reported that Gray bought real estate shortly before a $50 million state-funded redevelopment of 70 acres of the former Castle Air Force Base. Gray had disclosed the investments to state officials, but not on his federal disclosure forms after 2022. A former state ethics official noted that the timing of Gray's investment could raise concerns about the appearance of a conflict of interest. Gray's campaign manager denied any impropriety.
Following weeks of counting, Gray eventually took the lead over Duarte on November 26, by a margin of 182 votes, with the race being called on December 4. It was the last congressional race to be called in the 2024 election.
As a member of the Natural Resources Committee, Gray co-sponsored two Bipartisanship bills to expand federal support for groundwater storage and recharge efforts in California. He also introduced the Valley Water Protection Act, which would limit the implementation of the Endangered Species Act in cases where it could pose a national security risk or causes significant regional economic harm. He later introduced legislation to establish a standardized rapid response system for wildfires.
Gray was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act of 2025.
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