# CA-06 — 2026 U.S. House Race Rep. **[[Kevin Kiley]]**, a two-term congressman who was elected as a Republican, is running in the redrawn 6th District on **November 3, 2026**, as a candidate with **no party preference**. His opponent is Democrat **[[Richard Pan]]**, a pediatrician and former state senator. [[Proposition 50 (California)]] broke up Kiley's old 3rd District and drew a new 6th that Kamala Harris would have carried in 2024. Forecasters rate the seat anywhere from Lean to Solid Democratic. The race is a test of whether a sitting member can survive a hostile remap by leaving his party. ## Where it stands (Oct. 31) - **Ratings:** [[Cook Political Report]] rates it **Solid Democratic**; it was absent from Cook's list of competitive seats as of Oct. 23. [[Sabato's Crystal Ball]] rates it **Likely Democratic** (Oct. 30) and Inside Elections **Lean Democratic** (Oct. 15). In March, The Mountain Messenger reported, the Crystal Ball had it at Safe Democratic and Inside Elections at Likely Democratic, so both have since moved toward a closer race. - **Polls:** No public general-election poll has been released. - **Money:** Through Oct. 14, Pan had $208,000 on hand; Kiley had about $35,000 and $104,000 in debts (FEC). ## The district The new 6th runs from Roseville and Rocklin in Placer County south through Citrus Heights, North Highlands, Natomas and North Sacramento to West Sacramento in Yolo County. It leaves out downtown and midtown Sacramento. Harris would have carried the new lines by more than six points in 2024, according to California Target Book data cited by CalMatters, and Democrats hold a registration edge of about nine points. Proposition 50, approved in November 2025 as [[Gavin Newsom]]'s response to Republican [[Mid-Decade Redistricting]] in Texas, split Kiley's old 3rd District, which ran from suburban Sacramento to Lake Tahoe, among six new districts, The Mountain Messenger reported. Democratic Rep. [[Ami Bera]], who represents the current 6th, chose to run in the new 3rd instead. ## The candidates - **[[Kevin Kiley]]** grew up in Granite Bay, went to Harvard and Yale Law School, served in the state Assembly from 2016 to 2022 and was elected to Congress in 2022. He was a leading critic of [[Gavin Newsom]] in the Legislature and voted for the 2025 tax-and-spending law known as the [[Big Beautiful Bill]]. In early March 2026 he changed his registration from Republican to no party preference and asked to be listed as an independent for the rest of his term, while still caucusing with Republicans on matters such as committee assignments. "I answer to you, not party leaders," he said. He had considered the safely Republican 5th District but chose the 6th, which includes his home base in Placer County. - **[[Richard Pan]] (D)** is a pediatrician who teaches at the UC Davis medical school. He served in the state Legislature until 2022 and is best known for laws tightening school vaccination requirements. He finished third in Sacramento's 2024 mayoral primary. Harris, Newsom and the California Democratic Party have endorsed him. In their first debate, hosted by The Sacramento Bee, Kiley attacked Pan's 2017 vote for a state gas-tax increase of 12 cents a gallon; Pan pressed Kiley on Medicaid cuts in the 2025 law and on his votes against limiting Trump's war powers. ## How the nominations were decided California uses a top-two primary (see [[Jungle Primary]]). In the certified **June 2, 2026** results, Kiley took 24.3% (47,165 votes) and Pan 23.2% (45,008). Republican Michael Stansfield was third with 20.1%, and four other Democrats split the remaining 32%. No Republican is on the November ballot. ## Money | Candidate | Raised (2025–26) | Spent | Cash on hand (Oct. 14) | |---|---|---|---| | [[Kevin Kiley]] (NPP) | $3,723,215 | $4,069,545 | $34,648 | | [[Richard Pan]] (D) | $2,548,242 | $2,340,306 | $207,936 | *Source: FEC committee summaries through the pre-general report; cash-on-hand figures match Quiver Quantitative's tally.* Kiley's committee reported $103,768 in debts and Pan's $55,812. Kiley had about $2 million on hand at the end of 2025, CalMatters reported, well ahead of the Democratic field; by mid-October he had spent more than he raised over the cycle. ## What to watch - **Placer versus Sacramento.** Kiley's base is Roseville and Rocklin; Pan's is the Sacramento and West Sacramento end of the district. - **Republican voters with no Republican on the ballot.** Republican Michael Stansfield took 20% in June; those voters now choose between Kiley and Pan. - **The cash gap.** Pan reported about six times as much cash on hand as Kiley going into the final three weeks. - **A slow count.** California counts mail ballots for days after Election Day; the June result here was still uncalled on election night. ## Connections - [[Kevin Kiley]] — incumbent, no party preference - [[Richard Pan]] — Democratic nominee - [[Ami Bera]] — Democratic incumbent of the current 6th, running in the new 3rd - [[Proposition 50 (California)]] — the 2025 redistricting measure - [[Redistricting Timeline 2025-2026]] - [[CA-48-2026]], [[CA-45-2026]], [[CA-13-2026]] — other California seats Proposition 50 reshaped - [[2026 House Races Hub]] · [[2026 Key State Races Hub]] · [[2026 Midterms Hub]]