(The Center Square) \u2013 With less than a month to go in the vote count, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley continues to hold onto the lead in the race for California Congressional District 6.<\/p>\n
According to the California Secretary of State\u2019s website<\/a>, Kiley, an independent from Rocklin, has 46,921 votes or 24.3%.<\/p>\n Democratic candidate Richard Pan, a pediatrician, has 44,805 votes or 23.2%.<\/p>\n Republican Michael Stansfield, an applications engineer and author, is in third with 38,823 votes or 20.1%.<\/p>\n There are 25 days remaining in the counting process.<\/p>\n Under California law, the two candidates with the greatest number of votes in the June 2 primary, regardless of party affiliation, will go on to the Nov. 3 general election.<\/p>\n District 6 includes portions of Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties. Formerly known as District 3, the area was redrawn<\/a> to favor Democrats. Currently 415 ballots remain uncounted in Placer County compared<\/a> to Sacramento County\u2019s 3,216 and Yolo County\u2019s 1,036.\u00a0 Together, they make up 4,667 ballots.<\/p>\n Other candidates on the ballot are Democrats Lauren Babb Tomlinson (12.3%), Thien Ho (10.7%), Martha Guerrero (7.9%), and Tyler Vandenberg (1.6%).<\/p>\n Kiley was first elected to Congress as a Republican but changed to an independent earlier this year. He continues to caucus with Republicans.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason for my change is because I think partisanship has gotten out of control in Congress, and it\u2019s really doing great damage to our country,\u201d Kiley told<\/a> The Center Square in April. \u201cOf course, the redistricting war is a very clear manifestation of that.\u201d<\/p>\n In May, Kiley told The Center Square that the No. 1 issue for him was cost of living.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lead the nation in highest gas prices, highest electricity prices, with water and housing and groceries, and much of that is because of overreaching state policies, which are not well adapted to what will make things affordable in our state,\u201d Kiley said.<\/p>\n According to AAA<\/a>, the average price in the Golden State on Monday was $5.74 a gallon, far above the national average of $4.06.<\/p>\n “I’m doing everything I can to restore some balance, to bring prices down, to serve as a check and balance on some of these runaway policies,” Kiley said in May. “And I think we’ve had some success in doing that, but we certainly have a long way to go to make things more affordable in California.<\/p>\n California’s economic problems include the nation’s highest unemployment rate<\/a> and homelessness.<\/p>\n Pan is scheduled to have a press conference Tuesday in Sacramento.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the June primary election, CA-06 is one of Democrats\u2019 strongest pickup opportunities in the country,\u201d said the Pan for Congress campaign in a press release<\/a>. \u201cThe decisive passage<\/a> of Proposition 50 has further strengthened<\/a>\u00a0Democrats\u2019 position in the district, creating a clear path to victory in November.\u201d<\/p>\n