Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, speaks during a Sacramento Bee subscriber only town hall meeting at the historic Loomis Train Depot in Placer County on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.
HECTOR AMEZCUA
hamezcua@sacbee.com
Rep. Kevin Kiley has chosen to seek re-election in a left-leaning Congressional district where he will face off with a crowded field of Democratic contenders.
In a statement on Monday morning, Kiley said he will be running in the 6th Congressional District which spans parts of West Sacramento, Natomas, East Sacramento and Citrus Heights, Roseville and Rocklin. Democratic Rep. Ami Bera currently holds the seat, but he has decided to seek re-election in another district. Some political experts have been skeptical of Kiley’s chances in this district.
“The new 6th District is Democratic-leaning but open-minded,” Kiley, 41, said in a written statement on Monday morning. “While this will be a more challenging race, I believe we can build a winning coalition for common sense.”
Kiley’s announcement follows months of deliberation over his political future after Proposition 50 redrew the state’s congressional map in an effort to oust him and other Republicans. Kiley, who unsuccessfully pleaded with his party to stop mid-decade redistricting, was left with a district that has leaned heavily Democratic in recent elections.
In recent weeks, Kiley had publicly narrowed down his choices to the 5th and 6th Districts.
A run in the 5th District would have pitted him against Republican incumbent Tom McClintock who has the backing of President Donald Trump. In his statement, Kiley said he was “fully prepared” to run in the 5th District with polls showing a “favorable outlook.”
“But doing what’s easy and what’s right are often not the same,” Kiley said. “And at the end of the day, as much as I love the communities in the 5th District that I represent now — and as excited as I was about the new ones — seeking office in a district that doesn’t include my hometown didn’t feel right.”
Kiley’s decision cements him as the most high-profile Republican candidate in the 6th District race. Other Republican candidates include Craig Deluz, Christine Bish and Raymond Riehle.
The Democratic contenders are more well-known. Among the candidates are West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, former California state Sen. Richard Pan and Planned Parenthood leader Lauren Babb Tomlinson.
Kiley, who was raised in Granite Bay, attended Harvard University and Yale Law School. He previously served in the California Legislature and raised his state profile by leading the failed attempt to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. Over the last year, he has emerged in the last year as one of the few House Republicans willing to break with GOP leadership.
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Mathew Miranda is a political reporter for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, covering how decisions in Washington, D.C., affect the lives of Californians. He is a proud son of Salvadoran immigrants and earned degrees from Chico State and UC Berkeley.