District Seven<\/p>\n
District Seven includes most of the City of Sacramento with small parts of southern El Dorado County and northern San Joaquin County.<\/p>\n
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District 7 candidates: Mai Vang, Doris Matsui. Courtesy photos<\/p>\n
Currently, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang leads with 30.8% of the vote. Incumbent Doris Matsui is in second place with 29.1%. The general election in November will feature these two Democrats.<\/p>\n
Republican candidates Zachariah Wooden and Ralph Nwobi have 22.1% and 15.3% respectively. They are not expected to make it to the general election.<\/p>\n
Matsui, 81, has been in Congress since 2005, when she won a special election to replace her husband, the late Robert Matsui. She is not used to strong opposition and her second-place finish in this primary is considered an upset. The Associated Press wrongly called the race for Matsui on election night. Since then, newly counted ballots have Vang in the lead.<\/p>\n
Vang has proven to be a serious challenger. Like Eric Jones in District Four, she is part of a new wave of younger Democrat candidates seeking generational change for their party and challenging older incumbents for being out of touch with voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are tired of leaders who answer to their biggest donors instead of the families they represent,\u201d said Vang in a public statement about the race. \u201cThe squeeze on working families doesn\u2019t check your party registration \u2014 and neither will I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matsui told News & Review, \u201cI got into public service to find every avenue to make real, tangible progress for the people I serve. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve spent years fighting and delivering for families in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeking a possible 12th term, Matsui said she recognizes she will \u201chave to battle going into November,\u201d but wants another shot at \u201cholding the Administration accountable for their abuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding the fairness of the election, Matsui said, I do believe the primary election was fairly conducted and the only reason there is any question is because of the disingenuous politics being played by the president and his cronies.\u201d<\/p>\n
District Six<\/p>\n
Congressional District Six now stretches east from the Sacramento International Airport over to Citrus Heights and south towards Rancho Murieta. Currently represented by Ami Bera, he is moving over to the newly redrawn District Three.<\/p>\n
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District 6 candidates: Kevin Kiley, Richard Pan. Courtesy photos<\/p>\n
US Representative Kevin Kiley, an Independent, leads Democrat State Senator Richard Pan by a margin of 24.5% to 23.2%. Republican candidate Michael Stansfield has 20.1%. Remaining Democrat candidates made up 32.1% of the remaining ballots.<\/p>\n
Kiley switched from the Republican party to Independent and jumped over to District Six after Proposition 50 created a District Three map in which he couldn\u2019t win. Kiley\u2019s current district encompasses most the eastern Sierra Nevada, whereas the new district map stays north and closer to Sacramento.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis race will be a choice between the extreme partisan politics that have made California the most unaffordable state in the country, and the independent leadership that allows our local communities to thrive,\u201d said Kiley in an official campaign statement. He also made a speech in the House of Representatives earlier this week admonishing California\u2019s election process for its \u201cglacier\u201d pace in counting ballots.<\/p>\n
Kiley and Pan are both expected to be in the general election. If remaining Democrat voters go for Pan, he can defeat Kiley even if Kiley gets Stansfield\u2019s Republican votes. A Pan win would keep District 6 in the Democrat column.<\/p>\n
District One<\/p>\n
In District One, which includes Butte County and much of the North Central Valley, there were two congressional races; a short-term special election and the regular two-year term primary.<\/p>\n
Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher won the special election to fill the remaining months of the late Doug LaMalfa\u2019s congressional term. Using district maps from 2024 for this special election, Gallagher was declared winner with 62.1% of the vote, already eliminating the need for an August runoff election.<\/p>\n
Gallagher\u2019s term lasts until January 2027, unless he is re-elected in November.<\/p>\n
Among his main challengers, CSU, Chico professor, Democrat Audrey Denney is currently at 18.5% and Democrat State Senator Mike McGuire has 17.2% of the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I am sworn in to Congress, it will be the first time ever I have been in the majority,\u201d said Gallagher in his farewell comments in Sacramento after resigning from the California State Assembly. \u201cI\u2019ve spent my entire political career in the minority. It\u2019s sharpened my skills, it\u2019s refined my acumen, it\u2019s made me stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in the regular election for District One\u2019s next two-year term, Gallagher\u2019s lead is much smaller. This race is using the new Proposition 50 voter-approved district map intended to favor Democrats by adding parts of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.<\/p>\n
Once again, Democrats split their vote mostly between McGuire and Denney, giving the primary lead to the Republican. Gallagher is at 43.8% and McGuire is at 40.5%, making them the two finalists for November.<\/p>\n
Denney\u2019s strength over McGuire in Butte County was not enough to overtake his more solid support from Mendocino and Sonoma counties. She is currently at 13.9%, and the remaining candidates combined are under 2%.<\/p>\n
McGuire told News & Review, \u201cThe overall Democratic vote means that Gallagher is in deep trouble. The hard-working folks who call the North State home are tired of the chaos, corruption and cruelty of the Trump Administration. They\u2019re ready for representation that actually delivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Democratic Action Club of Chico, which endorsed Denney, issued a statement last Monday asking Democrats to support McGuire in the general election. \u201cThe single priority we must all share is winning control of Congress and beginning to rein in the lawlessness of the Trump Administration,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n
If Denney supporters redirect their votes to McGuire, it should win District One for the Democrats for the first time since 2010, making Gallagher\u2019s congressional term very short.<\/p>\n
Regarding the fairness of the election, McGuire said, \u201cLet\u2019s talk facts and set aside the BS MAGA talking points. California runs some of the safest, most transparent elections in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
District Four<\/p>\n
Congressional District Four now reaches from Petaluma on the west side over to Lincoln on the east, and from American Canyon on the south end to Yuba City up north. This district was also significantly redrawn by Proposition 50.<\/p>\n
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District 4 candidates: Mike Thompson, Eric Jones, Raymond Riehle. Courtesy photos<\/p>\n
Incumbent Mike Thompson from St. Helena, now serving in his 14th term, leads the race with 39.5% of the vote. Fellow Democrat Eric Jones from Napa and Republican businessman Raymond Riehle from Citrus Heights are in a close race for second place. Currently, Riehle is at 22.3%, about 1,700 votes ahead of Jones at 21.3%.<\/p>\n
Thompson said in a statement, \u201cI am so thankful to the over 240 local elected officials and community leaders that supported my campaign, every volunteer who put up a sign, collected petition signatures, knocked on doors, and talked to our neighbors. Ours was a true grassroots effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones, a 35-year-old venture capitalist, is confident he will take second place from Riehle, setting up an all-Democrat general election race. \u201cWe see the numbers coming our way,\u201d said Brian Parvizshahi, who manages the Jones campaign. He reasoned that outstanding ballots from Sonoma, Napa and Yolo Counties, including Davis, should break for Jones.<\/p>\n
Jones told News & Review, \u201cThis primary sent a clear message. A majority of voters are ready for change,\u201d he said. \u201cThese voters understand that our government, whether in Sacramento or Washington DC, no longer serves everyday Americans and their families\u2026The continued energy in the streets, at doorsteps, and in living rooms is what will carry this movement to victory in November.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not certain I will be in the general election,\u201d\u00a0admitted Riehle, who nevertheless feels he \u201cfar exceeded\u201d expectations as a Republican with little funding in a district that leans heavily Democrat. District Six was where Riehle wanted to run, as he lives in that district. But Kevin Kiley, a Republican who switched to Independent, moved over to District Six for this election.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not going to run against a sitting Republican,\u201d said Riehle, referring to Kiley\u2019s political leanings and Republican party affiliation.<\/p>\n
News & Review asked both Jones and Riehle if they felt the election was fairly conducted. Jones\u2019 campaign manager Parvizshahi answered, \u201cHe does, yes!\u201d<\/p>\n
Riehle was more reflective, saying President Trump should back-up his election fraud claims with real evidence. \u201cWithin the limits of what I understand\u2026I am confident that the registrar of voters only counted the ballots that came in legally,\u201d said Riehle.<\/p>\n
Explaining California\u2019s ballot-counting process<\/p>\n
Despite the president\u2019s claims of \u201crigged\u201d elections, California\u2019s process for counting ballots<\/a> is slow because it is thorough and methodical. State law emphasizes accuracy over speed, so signatures on all mail-in ballots are rigorously checked for authenticity.<\/p>\n With 26 million registered voters, enough time must also be given for late-arriving mailed ballots (as long as they are postmarked by election day) and ballots officially approved for correction by voters who made a small mistake.<\/p>\n