Josh Harder beats Kevin Lincoln in key Stockton, California congressional election
Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, defeated his Republican challenger in California’s 9th Congressional District, the Associated Press projected.
Harder, a member of Congress since 2019, faced Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln in a race that analysts predicted could become close.
Harder had 52% of the votes and Lincoln had 48% as of 4:40 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday. An estimated 94% of votes had been counted.
Harder has already declared victory and Lincoln has conceded.
The 9th district, centered around Stockton, holds most of San Joaquin County and reaches from Galt through Manteca. It also has slivers of Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties.
The district was likely, but not definitely, going to pick a Democrat for the House, election forecasters had said. Analysts cited national Republican enthusiasm to flip this seat and Lincoln’s candidacy as an upside for the GOP here, but noted Harder’s decisive 2022 win and the district’s left-leaning makeup favored Democrats.
Harder and Lincoln’s House race was one of the last to be decided by the AP nationwide.
Republicans had already captured a slim House of Representatives majority, one that could be thinned for a period of time if members resign for Trump administration roles. The GOP will control at least 218 seats when the 119th Congress convenes in January. Democrats will have at least 210.
Harder and Lincoln
Harder, 38, entered the House by ousting a Republican congressman from a district containing Harder’s hometown of Turlock. Harder retained his seat in the 2020 election.
Following redistricting, the once-a-decade redrawing of legislative maps based on 2020 census data, Harder’s old district was chopped up. A significant chunk moved into a district with Stockton.
When longtime Stockton Rep. Jerry McNerney, a Democrat, said he was not going to run for Congress again, Harder announced he would run in the newly-drawn seat. He won by almost 10 percentage points against San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti, a Republican, in 2022.
Harder worked in venture capital until 2017. He left during his first congressional bid and taught at Modesto Junior College.
In Congress, he sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which writes government spending bills.
Lincoln, 44, has been mayor of his hometown of Stockton since 2021, running for and entering public office for the first time amid the coronavirus pandemic that forced lockdowns throughout the U.S.
Prior to becoming mayor, Lincoln served in the U.S. Marine Corps and on Marine One during President George W. Bush’s administration. After moving back to California to start his family, Lincoln was a district manager for a private security company and an executive administrator for his local church.
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 5:01 PM.
