Will she or won’t she? Ashby announces her answer to the Congress question | Opinion
Ending months of speculation, Sacramento’s State Sen. Angelique Ashby told The Bee exclusively that she will not run for the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District.
Ashby cited her recent appointment as Senate Majority Leader as a primary reason why she will not join the increasingly crowded list of suitors vying for what she called an “increasingly unproductive, dysfunctional and polarized Congress.” The list of candidates has grown ever since California voters approved Proposition 50, which allows Democrats to redraw congressional boundaries to benefit Democrats.
“It’s the first time in (the history of) the state of California that the pro tem and the majority leader are both women, and we’re both moms,” Ashby said, referencing the new Senate Pro Tem, Sen. Monique Limón, D-Goleta. “I have a really unique opportunity as the senator for Sacramento, and now as the majority leader, to take on some of California’s biggest challenges and also put my community front and center.”
The former Sacramento City council member is now one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the state and well-placed for leadership in Sacramento area politics.
“As I have measured these two opportunities, contemplated each path, talked with my family and prayed for guidance, my north star has been: how and where can I do the most good for the most people, while maintaining my core values and keeping my commitments, both personal and professional,” Ashby said in a press release sent out on Thursday.
“In the end the decision is clear,” Ashby wrote. “I can accomplish more right now for our region by continuing to serve in the California State Senate than in an increasingly unproductive, dysfunctional and polarized Congress.”
Ashby is still a freshman state senator and will be vying for reelection later this year. Had she decided to run in the 6th District, her North Sacramento base might have been helpful in a district redrawn to include parts of West Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Roseville, Rocklin and North Sacramento, including Natomas, where Ashby lives and could have potentially carried a large number of votes.
“If she had chosen to run for Congress, she would have won,” said former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who served with Ashby during their time together on the Sacramento City Council. “She’s a fierce campaigner and very popular. I know it was a very hard decision for her, but I think it was a great decision.
Steinberg, who also served as the Senate pro tem before beating Ashby to be elected mayor in 2016, said there are “certain advantages” to serving in the U.S. Congress over the state senate, but that “it’s very difficult to actually legislate and create change there.”
“The California capitol … it’s a nation state in itself,” Steinberg said. “(Ashby has) already demonstrated the ability to legislate on big issues and make a difference. She ‘has the chops,’ as we say.”
At least four others have already announced their campaigns for the 6th District, including Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho; former California assemblymember Dr. Richard Pan; Lauren Babb Tomlinson, chief public affairs officer at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte; and Martha Guerrero, the mayor of West Sacramento. Ashby said she has not yet made an official endorsement of any candidate.
Still, Ashby did not rule out a future congressional campaign — someday.
“If the people of Sacramento are gracious enough to re-elect me, I can ask them for their support two more times before I would term out,” she said. “I could see in the future, maybe (...) Washington, DC might be the place where I can be the most helpful. But I don’t think that moment is this moment.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
