California’s Prop. 50 shakeout: Who’s running where?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Prop. 50 redraws districts, prompts incumbents and challengers to relocate.
- Nancy Pelosi exits after decades, triggering contested races in SF District 11.
- Republicans scramble: Kiley weighs runs in Districts 3, 5 or 6 amid funding gaps.
The passage of Proposition 50 changed the dynamics of a number of California’s congressional districts, and congressional hopefuls are responding in turn.
On Wednesday, longtime San Francisco representative and former Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, announced she would not be running for re-election after nearly 40years in Congress. Several candidates have already launched campaigns for the seat, including state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Saikat Chakrabarti, the former campaign manager and chief of staff to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Other possibilities, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report, include San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and Pelosi’s daughter, attorney Christine Pelosi.
The change has also heightened stakes for Republicans, who now have fewer safe districts to campaign in. On Wednesday, Republican Ken Calvert said he’d run for the Southern California seat that Republican Young Kim has represented since 2021.
Republican Kevin Kiley, who’s represented California’s 3rd Congressional District for several years, told The SacramentoBee Wednesday he’s not sure where he’ll run now that his district has been fractured to benefit Democrats. One option could be to run against Republican Tom McClintock in California’s 5th Congressional District, representing the Sierra Nevada foothills to the Nevada border. Although McClintock is an incumbent, he has a disadvantage to Kiley when it comes to cash on hand: According to FEC filings, he has about $162,000 in his campaign account compared to Kiley’s $1.85 million.
Another option for Kiley would be to focus on the 6th Congressional District, which includes some of the Sacramento suburbs he’s been representing.
“Ultimately it’ll just be about where I can have the biggest impact, do the most to protect the quality of life in California,” he told The Bee on Thursday.
“I honestly have not even begun to seriously think about it, and I’m not really ready to rush. The deadline to file is next March, so that’s the only real hard deadline that’s out there.”
The deadline for candidates to file to appear on the June 2, 2026 primary ballot is March 6, 2026.
Below, we’ve mapped some of the dynamics at play in several Northern California districts, and note some of the significant challengers to current incumbents. Check back for updates as the races progress.
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 the District 3 seat. 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 said Thursday she won’t 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.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 2:05 PM with the headline "California’s Prop. 50 shakeout: Who’s running where?."
