After Proposition 50 redrew California's map mid-decade, sitting Rep. Kevin Kiley dropped his Republican registration and is running for re-election as an independent. Five Democrats and three Republicans are also on the June 2 primary ballot. Here's the race, the candidates, and what's at stake.
California's 6th Congressional District covers Rocklin, Roseville, Citrus Heights, much of north and east Sacramento, and West Sacramento. It is one of more than a dozen newly drawn California districts after voters approved Proposition 50 in November 2025—a measure that let the state legislature bypass California's independent redistricting commission and redraw the federal map ahead of the 2026 midterms. CA-06 was drawn as a Democratic-leaning district. The race is also unusual for one specific reason: it includes the only sitting independent member of the U.S. House. Sitting Rep. Kevin Kiley, elected as a Republican in 2022 and 2024, dropped his party affiliation in March 2026 and is running for re-election as a No Party Preference candidate. Five Democrats and three Republicans are also on the ballot. With California's top-two open primary on June 2, all nine candidates compete on one ballot, and only the top two advance to November regardless of party.
This is one of the most-watched House races in the country—and a real test of whether the "independent in Congress" experiment can survive in a redrawn district.
We track every candidate who has officially declared for California's 6th Congressional District in the 2026 cycle. We provide this information so voters can make an informed choice. Independent Center Voice does not endorse candidates. Information below is sourced from each candidate's public statements and campaign materials.
Democrat; pediatrician and former California State Senator. Authored legislation expanding healthcare access, including measures on prescription drug costs and childhood vaccination requirements. Small business owner.
California State Senate (multiple terms); advanced to the November 2026 general election alongside Kevin Kiley.
Sitting U.S. Representative since January 2023; previously a member of the California State Assembly (2016-2022); born and raised in Rocklin; education at Harvard, Yale Law, and Loyola Marymount; elected to the House as a Republican in 2022 and re-elected in 2024 with 55.5%; changed his registration to No Party Preference on March 9, 2026, citing the impact of mid-decade redistricting; currently the only independent serving in the U.S. House
Elected to U.S. House 2022, 2024 (as Republican); California State Assembly 2016-2022
Based on voter file data and our 2026 Tuned In polling, here are the issues independent voters in CA-06 say will shape their vote. We don't tell you what to think about them. We do tell you they matter.
Sacramento-area voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly reject the use of public funds to subsidize private corporate developments—particularly sports stadiums—at roughly 85% cross-partisan agreement.
Term limits, a ban on congressional stock trading, tighter campaign finance rules, and a generational shift away from long-term political incumbents cut across every demographic in the district.
Property crime, drug enforcement, and the federal-state interaction on public safety policy all play out in Sacramento neighborhoods.
Roughly 90% of Sacramento-area cross-partisan sentiment is built on a shared concern about traffic safety, pedestrian deaths, and infrastructure failures.
The third-most-flagged voter file issue and one of the strongest cross-partisan themes in local sentiment tracking. Sacramento-area voters across every party say affordability is the issue they bring up first.
The single most-flagged issue in the CA-06 voter file, with more than four in ten voters carrying the Immigration Reform flag and more than a quarter carrying the Border Security flag.
Eight in ten CA-06 voters are classified as persuadable in 2026—including registered Democrats, Republicans, and No Party Preference voters.
That's not a fringe pattern in this district. It's the median voter. The voter file shows 360,000 persuadable voters out of 450,000 registered—including 40% who are registered Democrats, 27% who are registered Republicans, and 34% who are NPP. In other words, persuadability in CA-06 is not the property of any one party. That fits the cross-partisan signals coming out of Sacramento-area sentiment tracking. Voters across the spectrum agree about more than national politics would suggest: that traffic safety is a crisis, that public dollars shouldn't subsidize billionaire-owned sports franchises, that cost-of-living frustrations cut every direction, and that there's growing impatience with long-term political incumbents on every side. Independent Center Voice exists to make sure those voters—across every party registration—have a clear picture of what's on their 2026 ballot. We don't tell anyone how to vote. We make sure the information is there.
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