[3] In 2020, he was awarded a Doctorate in Public Administration from the California Baptist University with a dissertation on "Managing Budgetary Conflict Between the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government".

[8][11] Obernolte served as state assemblyman for California's 33rd State Assembly district, which encompasses a wide expanse of the High Desert (areas of the Mojave Desert), from the eastern fringes of the Los Angeles metropolitan area to the Nevada and Arizona borders, from 2014 to 2020.

In January 2016, Obernolte was elected to serve on the California Legislative Technology and Innovation Caucus, which is co-chaired by Assembly members Ian Calderon and Evan Low.

[13][14] In 2016, Obernolte expressed concern over Frontier Communications's acquisition of Verizon's voice, video, data, and FiOS network, saying that the takeover "negatively affected" his constituents through poor landline telephone service.

[15] In 2016, Obernolte introduced Assembly Bill 2341, which would provide San Bernardino and other rural counties with additional judges to resolve backlogged court systems.

[19] Obernolte said that Governor Jerry Brown's $179.45 billion budget proposal was "responsible", but expressed a preference for fixing existing programs over creating new ones.

Obernolte pushed for lawmakers to limit long-term funding commitments and said the budget proposal did nothing to address the "state's out-of-control pension debts and retiree health care liabilities.

[25] Obernolte opposed raising fire insurance costs, which is calculated by factors in the risk of wildfire, fuels, slope and road access for emergency vehicles.

[35] Obernolte was sworn in to Congress on January 3, 2021, and appointed Freshman Class Representative to the House Republican Policy Committee.

[47] In February 2021, Obernolte voted against the resolution that stripped Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments[48] for her incendiary and violent statements.

The taskforce was established "to explore how Congress can ensure America continues to lead the world in AI innovation while considering guardrails that may be appropriate to safeguard the nation against current and emerging threats".

[53][54] For the 118th Congress:[55] Obernolte supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade and believes that because the Constitution does not mention abortion explicitly, states may outlaw it.

"[60] In 2022, Obernolte was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

[63][64] On February 10, 2014, Obernolte announced his candidacy for the California State Assembly to succeed Tim Donnelly in the 33rd district.

[3][85] Obernolte holds a fifth-degree black belt in Pacific Unified Martial Arts and is co-owner and instructor at PUMA Karate in Big Bear Lake.