Who’s running in what CA districts in 2026? A Sacramento Bee Prop. 50 scorecard
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THE PROP. 50 BOOST
Via David Lightman...
Nonpartisan groups that analyze House races were quick to say Wednesday that California’s Democrats strengthened themselves immensely in the Proposition 50 voting.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball had its outlook for 12 House races change because of the initiative’s redrawn district lines. Eleven now favored Democrats.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report recast 10 races as favoring Democrats.
Only Southern California’s 40th District became a more strong Republican seat, both analyses said. Rep. Young Kim is the incumbent, but Wednesday, Rep. Ken Calvert said he would seek the seat. Calvert’s Riverside County-based district was all but eliminated.
In the Crystal Ball analyses:
Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced, saw his race go from tossup to leaning Democratic. Gray won his 2024 race by 187 votes.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, got his race shifted from leaning Democratic to likely Democratic.
Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, went from having a race that leaned Republican before the vote to tossup.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Chico, saw his race go from safe Republican to likely Democratic.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, had a shift from likely Republican to likely Democratic. He plans to run again, but has not decided where.
WHO’S RUNNING FOR WHAT? A SACRAMENTO BEE SCORECARD
The Prop. 50 win set off a cascade of changes to districts across the state. Below, we’ve mapped some of the dynamics at play, and note some of the significant challengers to current incumbents.
District 1, North State/Chico area now including Santa Rosa:
Represented by: Republican Doug LaMalfa since 2013.
Challenger: Two-time LaMalfa opponent Audrey Denney announced she would run for the seat in August, and officially launched her campaign in October.
Unknown: State Senate Pro tem Mike McGuire, D-Santa Rosa, terms out in 2026 and is contemplating a run.
District 2, Marin County and North Coast now including eastern North State:
Represented by: Democrat Jared Huffman since 2013.
No new contenders have entered the race.
District 3, Tahoe area now including more of Sacramento County:
Represented by: Republican Kevin Kiley since 2023.
Challenger: District 6 Representative Ami Bera announced he would run Tuesday night. Democrat Heidi Hall, a Nevada County supervisor, is also running.
District 4, Napa Valley now including more of Sutter and Colusa counties:
Represented by: Democrat Mike Thompson since 1999.
Challenger: Democrat Eric Jones, a former venture capitalist.
District 5, Sierra Nevada range now extending to the Nevada border:
Represented by: Republican Tom McClintock since 2009.
No new contenders have entered the race.
Unknown: District 5 now includes some of Kevin Kiley’s district, meaning he could make a run for it.
District 6, North Sacramento County now including northern suburbs such as Rocklin and Roseville:
Represented by: Democrat Ami Bera since 2013.
Challenger: Democrat Richard Pan announced Tuesday that he would run after Bera announced he was seeking a seat in District 3. Lauren Babb Tomlinson, the public affairs chief for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, said she would run for this district if Bera did not.
Unknown: District 6 now includes some of Kevin Kiley’s district, meaning he could make a run for it.
District 7, Sacramento City and Elk Grove now including Placerville and other foothill communities:
Represented by: Democrat Doris Matsui since 2005. Matsui has said she’ll run again.
Challenger: Sacramento City Councilwoman Mai Vang as well as several other challengers.
A few other races of note:
District 40, Orange County now including part of Riverside County:
Represented by: Republican Young Kim since 2021.
Challenger: Republican Ken Calvert, who currently represents District 41, said Wednesday that he’d run for the seat.
District 11, San Francisco, remained unchanged:
Represented by Democrat Nancy Pelosi since 1987. Pelosi has not said whether she’ll run again.
Challengers: Democratic San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener and Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti, former campaign manager and chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Read more about the Great 2026 Scramble from Opinion columnist Tom Philip.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Good luck, losers.”
— Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office on X, in response to a lawsuit from the state’s GOP against Prop. 50
Best of The Bee:
GOP challenges Prop. 50 in court, hours after Democrats’ decisive victory via Lia Russell
Proposition 50 wiped out Rep. Calvert’s district. He’ll run elsewhere via David Lightman
Kevin Kiley says he’s running for re-election. He’s not sure where via David Lightman
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 4:55 AM.
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