Rep. Kevin Kiley and Democrat Richard Pan locked in for CA’s 6th District Congressional race
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who switched from the Republican Party to identify as an Independent earlier this year, will face off against former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan in the race for California’s new 6th Congressional District seat this fall.
Kiley and Pan both locked up their spots for the November general election Tuesday afternoon, according to The Associated Press. Kiley had 24.5% of the vote, while Pan had 23.2%, with about 92% of the vote is counted.
The results will ease the concerns of some Democrats who worried about the possibility of a runoff between Kiley and Republican candidate Michael Stansfield, who was in second place until Friday. Stansfield now has 20.1% of the vote.
The 6th Congressional District, which mostly consists of areas in Sacramento and Placer counties, is supposed to be a safe blue seat under the new boundaries passed with Proposition 50. But the number of high-profile Democratic candidates on the primary ballot split the vote early on. Besides Pan, Sacramento County District Attorney Thein Ho, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and Lauren Babb Tomlinson, a Planned Parenthood leader, also ran in the district.
Earlier this year, Kiley joined the crowd of Democratic contenders, leaving the GOP to run as an independent in the newly redrawn district, after Prop 50’s passage made success in the 3rd District, whose seat he currently holds, unlikely.
He attributed his departure from the Republican Party to his frustration with partisanship, though many have speculated stemmed at least in part from a need to broaden his base of voters in the left-leaning 6th District.
This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Rep. Kevin Kiley and Democrat Richard Pan locked in for CA’s 6th District Congressional race."
