U.S. House of Representatives

This Northern California wine country district includes Napa and Sonoma valleys as well as Sacramento suburbs like Davis. It was redrawn under Prop. 50 to include more rural and conservative areas in Yolo and Yuba counties.

Incumbent Rep. Mike Thompson, a moderate Democrat and Army veteran who served in Vietnam, is seeking his 15th term in Congress. Nearly 50% of the district is new territory after Prop. 50 redrew it to include much more rural and traditionally conservative parts of Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter and Yuba counties. Thompson faces his most serious challenge in recent years from former venture capitalist Eric Jones, who now leads a multimillion-dollar organization helping Democrats mobilize young voters.

This Sacramento-based district stretches beyond the capital city to incorporate northeastern suburbs along Interstate 80, including conservative-leaning Roseville, Rocklin and Citrus Heights.

Following the passage of Prop. 50, and after months of deliberation, District 3 incumbent Rep. Kevin Kiley left the Republican Party and switched to run as an independent in the Sixth District. He faces former state Sen. Richard Pan, a Democrat and family physician known for passing legislation requiring vaccination in schools, which made him a target of anti-vaxxers.

This district runs from the Central Valley through Elk Grove, part of Sacramento and up to El Dorado Hills. Formerly an even safer blue district that included much of the City of Sacramento and its southern suburbs, the seat was redrawn with Prop. 50 to incorporate more conservative areas in the valley and up toward Placerville.

Ten-term Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui, 81, faces her first formidable primary challenger in Mai Vang, 41, a progressive Sacramento city councilmember. Vang has campaigned on the need to upend the status quo in Congress and prioritize affordability for working families. Matsui is best known for securing billions of federal dollars for Sacramento-area flood and wildfire prevention projects, including levee repairs.

This San Francisco County district encompasses most of the city and is currently represented by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who is retiring after 39 years.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, who is known for advancing pro-housing legislation and LGBTQ rights, easily won the party’s endorsement and netted the most votes in the primary. He faces progressive San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, whom Pelosi endorsed as her successor. Saikat Chakrabarti, a millionaire primary candidate who failed to advance, has converted his campaign to an independent expenditure to boost Chan. This will be a close contest since Wiener did not outperform the other Democrats’ combined total in the June primary.

This perennially competitive district moved slightly leftward after Proposition 50 redrew the boundaries to include the southern half of the city of Stockton. Spanning the northernmost end of the San Joaquin Valley, the district includes portions of San Joaquin, Merced, Stanislaus, Madera and Fresno counties.

Democratic Rep. Adam Gray flipped this seat in 2024 by just 187 votes, such a razor-thin margin that it took nearly a month for The Associated Press to call the race in Gray’s favor. He faces former Stockton mayor Kevin Lincoln, a Republican, who after Prop. 50 switched districts to take on Gray. The seat is a top priority for Democrats and Republicans, and voters can expect a deluge of campaign advertisements.

This Central Valley district incorporates parts of Kings, Tulare, Fresno and Kern counties. With the passage of Prop. 50, a small portion of Fresno is now included, along with the eastern side of Bakersfield.

Democrats are trying again to unseat incumbent Rep. David Valadao, a moderate and the last remaining Republican who voted in favor of President Donald Trump’s second impeachment. He faces progressive Visalia School Board member and college professor Randy Villegas, a once-dark horse candidate who beat the Democratic Party’s chosen contender, Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains.

Under the Prop. 50 lines, this became a safe Republican district whose center of gravity shifted from Orange County to Riverside County. Incumbent Rep. Ken Calvert was drawn out of his old district and faces fellow Republican incumbent Rep. Young Kim.

Calvert led the field in the primary, indicating he likely won the contest for “Trumpiest” candidate, and Kim advanced largely due to the Democratic vote splitting three ways. Both candidates have sizable war chests and showed in the primary that they won’t pull punches when it comes to attacking one another. It will be exciting to see whether Kim tries to tailor her message toward the center to pick up votes from independents and Democrats. Those voters could also end up skipping this race with only two Republican options.

Democrats are targeting this San Diego-area seat currently held by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa. It covers most of East and North County San Diego and parts of Riverside County, including Palm Springs. Its voter makeup shifted from deep red to slightly blue under Prop. 50.

After Republican Rep. Darrell Issa announced his retirement, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond changed districts to run here and instantly became the Republican favorite. He faces Democratic San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who won her current seat by flipping a historically red council district. Desmond has a significant cash advantage over von Wilpert, who faced a competitive primary bid from fellow Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar.