Kiley to Run in California’s New 6th Congressional District
The incumbent congressman chooses a tougher, home-based district after California’s mid-decade redistricting shift.
Kiley at a 2024 campaign event in Folsom. Credit: Kevin Kiley.
ROCKLIN — Congressman Kevin Kiley will file papers to run for the newly drawn Sixth Congressional District. The announcement came on March 2 via social media from the Rocklin Republican, days ahead of the March 6 candidate filing deadline for the June primary.
California voters passed Proposition 50 in November 2025. Approval of the measure allowed the Legislature to enact new congressional district maps in response to redistricting by Texas and other Republican-led states. The effort resulted in the breakup of Kiley’s Third District into several new configurations designed to create additional opportunities for Democrats.
The Sixth Congressional District covers Roseville, Rocklin, Citrus Heights, sections of East Sacramento, Natomas, West Sacramento, and Orangevale. Kiley, a native of the Placer and Sacramento County area, stressed the value of representing his home communities in the decision.
“I was born, raised, and went to local public schools in Placer and Sacramento Counties, which I’ve always called home,” Kiley said in the statement. “They’ve been the core of my district during my time in elected office. That’s as it should be. It’s what representation is about.”
Kiley considered campaigning in the Fifth District as well. “It’s true that I was fully prepared to run in the new 5th, having tested the waters and with polls showing a favorable outlook in a “safe” district. But doing what’s easy and what’s right are often not the same,” Kiley explained in the announcement. “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.”
The congressman addressed the political character of the chosen district. “The new 6th District is Democratic-leaning but open-minded. While this will be a more challenging race, I believe we can build a winning coalition for common sense.” The decision ends speculation about a potential primary challenge against fellow Republican Congressman Tom McClintock in the Fifth District.
Kiley also voiced longstanding opposition to mid-decade redistricting. “The evil of gerrymandering is that it slices up and tears apart communities in a way that erodes the fabric of representative government,” Kiley stated. “That’s why I’ve opposed it everywhere – whether Texas or California, Indiana or Virginia. While we can’t now reverse the gerrymandering epidemic that has afflicted our country and scrambled our state’s map, I want to do what I can to make things better and not worse.”
Democratic Representative Ami Bera, who previously represented parts of the relevant area, will seek reelection in a different district. Several Democratic candidates have already declared for the Sixth District race, among them Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, former State Senator Richard Pan, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, and Planned Parenthood leader Lauren Babb Tomlinson. Republican Craig DeLuz has also filed.
Kiley won election to the California State Assembly in 2016 to represent the Sixth District and held the position until 2022. Voters elected Kiley to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 in the Third Congressional District, and he was reelected in 2024.