Your guide to California’s 6th District state Senate race
The race to represent the 6th Senate District, a purple region that encompasses Sacramento’s growing suburbs, features lesser-known Democrats challenging the well-financed Republican incumbent. The district, which includes parts of Sacramento and Placer counties, has a close political margin, with 35.56% of residents registered as Democrats and 36.1% registered as Republicans.
The incumbent, Sen. Roger Niello, is eligible to run for one more four-year term before reaching the state’s term limits. State senators represent their constituents in the upper house of the Legislature, where 40 lawmakers work throughout the two-year session to craft new laws for the state.
Niello, a businessman and former assemblymember, ran for the seat in 2022 after the area underwent redistricting following the 2020 census. Niello has had a large footprint in the Capitol and currently serves as the subchair of the Senate’s banking, budget, insurance and judiciary committees.
Two Democrats have filed to run against Niello: Sean Frame, a small business owner, and Sara Velasco, a writer. Frame, who is running his campaign without corporate money, has raised a fraction of Niello’s over $1 million war chest. Velasco doesn’t have a website and hasn’t filed any fundraising information with the Secretary of State’s Office.
Where is the district?
The 6th District lies east of Sacramento, right up to the Sierra foothills. It includes Sacramento suburbs Arden-Arcade, Citrus Heights and Roseville and spans from Lincoln in the north to Galt in the south.
Before it was redistricted in 2021 to reflect the 2020 Census, it encompassed much of Sacramento and leaned Democratic. Richard Pan, who’s running for Congress, and former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, both represented the district in its previous form.
Who are the candidates?
The incumbent, Niello, has the name recognition of his family’s ubiquitous car dealership, as well as legislative experience, having served in the Assembly from 2004 to 2010 and the Senate since 2022. As the vice chair of several influential committees, including the budget and judiciary committees, Niello is a prominent and trusted representative for Republicans. He often provides the Republican response to the governor’s budget proposals.
Niello’s legislative proposals are often moderate and technical in nature, and he has managed to get several measures passed in a Democratic supermajority. He has also taken some big swings: he is a vocal proponent for getting rid of daylight saving time and for easing the burden on businesses that are sued for noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to his candidate statement, he “opposes new taxes and regulations that drive up costs for Californians.”
A progressive Democrat and multimedia design specialist for the Sacramento County Office of Education , Frame has run for higher office twice — a bid for Congress in 2019 and for Assembly in 2023.
On his website, Frame describes becoming involved with his son’s school after the principal was shot and killed during the school day, and serving as a member of the Placerville Union School District Board of Trustees for nine years. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as a video producer and the founder of a PAC created to elect progressive candidates.
In his candidate statement, Frame said he supports single-payer health care, wants more accountability from government agencies and nonprofits dealing with homelessness in the state, and wants to address the climate and homeowners insurance crises.
Velasco has not registered any fundraising with the Secretary of State’s office and doesn’t appear to have an active campaign website.
Who is funding the races?
Niello is the clear leader when it comes to campaign fundraising, with over $1.2 million in the bank. His largest donor is the California Republican Party, which gave him $425,000 last summer. He also has received donations from close to home, including family members and the Niello Company, his family’s car dealership business. California companies Meta, DaVita and AT&T have also contributed, and in March, Chris Larsen — the CEO of software company Ripple — gave the contribution cap of $5,900.
Frame advertises his campaign as “corporate-free,” and has amassed a little over $16,000, according to the most recent campaign finance filings. His listed donations include multiple $1,000+ donations from Sacramento and Bay Area-based individuals associated with the Democratic Party, plus several school employees’ unions. In an email sent following this article’s publication, Frame said his campaign had received nearly 1,600 individual contributions to date that are below the Secretary of State’s $1,000 late reporting threshold.
The next fundraising update for both candidates will be at the end of April.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 1:50 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct Sean Frame’s current occupation and to clarify the number of times he has run for office.
