Who is running in California’s 6th Congressional District?
With congressional primary elections scheduled for June, a slate of high-profile candidates — including West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, former California state Sen. Richard Pan and Rep. Kevin Kiley — have announced their candidacies in District 6.
The district spans parts of West Sacramento, Natomas, East Sacramento and Citrus Heights, Roseville and Rocklin under a newly drawn map, with its current officeholder, Ami Bera, instead running in District 3. The primary election is set for June 2, and voters may cast ballots by mail beginning May 4.
Lauren Babb Tomlinson (D)
Babb Tomlinson is chief public affairs officer at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. In November, the 33-year-old told The Bee she aims to confront the administration’s rollbacks on reproductive care after the 2022 Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade and with it federal abortion protections. She also recalled the day that five Planned Parenthood clinics in Northern California shut down after President Donald Trump signed legislation cutting federal funding to the organization, calling it “the most devastating day” of her career.
Craig Deluz (R)
Deluz opened a campaign committee and began fundraising but said he suspended the campaign in September after “family health issues” arose that required his attention, The Sacramento Bee confirmed Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Martha Guerrero (D)
West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero announced her candidacy in January. Guerrero described the recent federal budget cuts under the Trump administration that hit Medi-Cal and Affordable Care Act subsidies as “our worst-case scenario” that “rolled back the safety net system” of the local community. The Los Angeles native said she plans to focus on housing affordability for both renters and homeowners, as well as on lowering grocery and health care costs.
Thien Ho (D)
Ho, 52, who has served as Sacramento County district attorney since January 2023, announced his candidacy in November. A former refugee from Vietnam, he led the 2020 prosecution of serial killer and rapist Joseph DeAngelo, known as the Golden State Killer. In an interview with The Sacramento Bee ahead of the official launch of his campaign, Ho said his top priority would be “to defend democracy,” and added that he wants to “fight to make California more affordable, lowering taxes for working families, reducing health care costs that have skyrocketed because of the big, bad billionaire bill,” reflecting on his own family’s struggles after arriving in the United States.
Kevin Kiley (I)
Kiley, 41, has represented the 3rd Congressional District since 2022. He is seeking re-election in the 6th District after Proposition 50 dramatically reshaped his district into more Democratic-friendly territory. Kiley, who was raised in Granite Bay, attended Harvard University and Yale Law School. He served in the California Legislature for six years and raised his state profile by being a chief critic of Gov. Gavin Newsom. According to his website, Kiley has prioritized policies to reduce inflation, increase choice in education and the responsible management of public lands while in the House. Kiley announced in March that he would run as an Independent, which is a departure from his many years as a registered Republican.
Richard Pan (D)
Pan, 60, is a former Sacramento legislator who served in the California Assembly and Senate from 2012 to 2022 and announced his run in October, initially targeting the 3rd District before Proposition 50 reshaped the map. He has been a central figure in writing California’s tough school vaccination requirements and has also carried measures aimed at broadening health coverage and shoring up the insurance market. In an interview with The Sacramento Bee, Pan said he wants to resist the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back access to health care and to protect Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Raymond Riehle (R)
Riehle, according to his campaign website, has lived in Citrus Heights for decades and runs his own business there. He served as a board director for the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce until he resigned in September 2024, and is affiliated with other groups, including the Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project and the Citrus Heights Water District. Riehle’s experiences as a business owner, board member of local organizations, and an elected water board member have taught him that “resources are limited and must be effectively managed,” his campaign website reads.
Tyler Vandenberg (D)
A veteran, Vandenberg says he is running for district 6 “at a time of chaos and corruption in Washington,” according to his campaign website. Vandenberg is committed to fight against “the Trump Administration’s corruption,” hold republican lawmakers accountable, establish strengthened Medicaid, affordable housing, and solar power, while “building a safer America for our immigrant neighbors, women, and LGBTQ+ communities.”
Republican Michael Enoch Stansfield has also registered to run but has raised less than $10,000, according to the Federal Election Commission, or appears to have no official campaign website.
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Who is running in California’s 6th Congressional District?."
