Your guide to California’s 9th Congressional District primary race
Rep. Josh Harder, D-Tracy, faces a familiar slate of challengers as he seeks reelection in California’s 9th Congressional District in the June primary.
Harder faces four Republican challengers, three of whom have raised little to no donations, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Harder, a four-term congressman originally from Turlock who now lives in Tracy, and John McBride, a self-described “constitutional conservative” from Lodi, are the only candidates who have reported contributions — though Harder has reported more than 600 times as many.
In an interview with The Sacramento Bee, McBride describes himself as an “underdog” who is invested and firmly planted in the community. Harder says he remains committed to priorities he has emphasized since his 2018 election, including accessible and affordable health care.
The other three candidates are Parminder “Happy” Singh, Khalid Jeffrey Jafri and Martin “Vmann” Veprauskas. Some did not respond to interview requests, and one does not have a clear way to be contacted.
In the 2024 general election, the 9th District was one of two in California to support Donald Trump while also electing a Democrat to Congress. However, its borders were redrawn as part of last year’s redistricting, which shifted the district to favor Harder’s reelection.
It used to “lean” toward the Democratic Party, but now it is considered “solid,” according to the Cook Political Report, which provides independent, nonpartisan election analysis.
Harder won by less than four percentage points in 2024, the Cook Political Report said, but “will have no trouble” winning this year.
Where is the district?
The 9th District is largely in the northern San Joaquin Valley, though its new boundaries extend into the East Bay.
The redrawn map trimmed sections to the north and east. Lodi, once fully within the district, is split among three districts, and part of Stockton is shifted into the 13th District, the only other district in the state that supported Trump while electing a Democrat. Antioch is also now within the district’s boundaries.
The district is primarily in San Joaquin County and includes parts of Contra Costa County.
According to the Cook Political Report, about 70% of the former district remains in the new one.
Who are the candidates?
Rep. Josh Harder, 39, was first elected to Congress in 2018 in the 10th District and has remained in Congress after redistricting placed him in the 9th District in 2022.
Before entering politics, Harder worked in venture capital until 2017. He left during his first congressional bid and teaches at Modesto Junior College.
While in Congress, Harder has been an advocate of eliminating the gas tax and has pushed for the development of alternative energy projects, including through a bill he introduced earlier this year that aims to eliminate red tape and provide political protections for such permitted projects.
Harder has also pushed for banning corporate political action committees. He said this stance cuts ties between himself and pharmaceutical companies, putting him in a unique position to advocate for cutting health care costs, such as how much people pay for prescription drugs like insulin. The cost of healthcare is a central priority for Harder and defending the Affordable Care Act was a key reason he first decided to run for Congress, he said.
John McBride, 65, has lived in the Central Valley for 40 years. He has worked primarily as a strength and conditioning coach for athletes, including at the University of the Pacific and St. Mary’s High School in Stockton.
McBride was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, and moved to California in 1989. He has volunteered with organizations such as Helping Hands Ministry, which provided free meals, and has served on the board of a Christian-based nonprofit now named Directions Medical Clinic, which aims at “helping women choose to keep their babies, as opposed to abortion,” McBride said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee.
McBride’s priorities include affordability, health care — which he likens to the Make America Healthy Again movement — and support for agriculture. He also supports stricter penalties for crimes and backs measures targeting judges he describes as “soft on crime.” He ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2024.
Parminder “Happy” Singh worked as a commercial real estate analyst for nearly four decades and currently lives in Sacramento, according to the candidate’s LinkedIn profile. According to his campaign website, he is focused on “fair and consistent” law enforcement, helping small businesses, investing in education and assisting with the high cost of living through supporting job creation and fair wages.
Khalid Jeffrey Jafri previously worked as an engineer for the California Water Resources Department, according to his campaign website. His priorities this campaign include advocating for support programs for people who are homeless, reducing the cost of living and taxes and “erradict(ing corruption.” Jafri ran unsuccessfully for the 9th District seat in 2024 as a Republican and in 2022 as a Democrat, according to Ballotpedia.
Martin “Vmann” Veprauskas is a retired U.S. Navy manager, according to the his description on California’s certified candidate list. He previously ran for a state Senate seat in 2024. A campaign site was not set up for this race.
Who is funding the race?
Harder has received more than $2.8 million in campaign contributions, and had nearly $4 million cash on hand as of the end of March, according to FEC filings. Just under 7,000 individual donations, some of which were transfers from a bank, were processed between October 2024 and December.
The majority of donations were $2,500 or less, coming from individuals and PACs representing different working groups, such as airline pilots, engineers and the real estate investment trust industry, or topics of interest, like reproductive rights.
Multiple donations in the thousands of dollars came from political action committees focused on supporting candidates in the Democratic Party. This includes a total of $18,370 from the Jeffries Battleground Protection Fund.
McBride reported more than $6,600 in contributions and had nearly $1,400 in cash on hand by the end of March, according to FEC filings.
The other three candidates either listed contributions of less than $500 or were not found within the FEC system.
