Biography:

The grandson of Portuguese immigrants, Dennis Cardoza grew up in a farming family in Merced County in Californias agricultural Central Valley.

After graduating from the University of Maryland, he first won a seat on the Atwater City Council in 1984 and eventually served as mayor pro-tem. He won his first race for the state assembly in 1996 by a narrow margin and served three terms before challenging scandal-plagued incumbent Gary Condit in the 2002 Democratic primary.

Cardoza is married with three children and lives in Atwater, Calif.

Past Campaigns:

Dennis Cardoza's first political victory was a seat on the Atwater City Council in 1984. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1996 and was re-elected two more terms. He won the Democratic primary for the 18th Congressional District in March 2002, beating incumbent Gary Condit.

He beat state Sen. Dick Monteith in the general election in November 2002.

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