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Ballot Explained

U.S. House · November 3, 2026

Who's running in California's 6th congressional district

2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.

Candidates
2
Incumbent
Open seat
Parties
Democratic
State primary
Jun 2

Candidates appear in ballot order. We do not rank them, score them, or recommend one — here is how this is put together, and here is what the office actually does.

2 candidates · ballot order · open seat

Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Lowering California's cost of living, which he makes the centre of his campaign.
  • A nationwide independent redistricting commission, paired with voter identification requirements.
  • Opposition to Proposition 50 and to mid-decade partisan map drawing.
  • Opposition to California's state vaccine mandate laws, including the school immunisation exemption repeal.
  • Running without a party label, which he frames as a rejection of partisanship in Congress.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • U.S. Representative for California's 3rd District since January 2023.
  • Served in the California State Assembly and briefly the State Senate before Congress.
  • Left the Republican Party in March 2026 and re-registered with no party preference; still caucuses with House Republicans.
  • Has introduced legislation for a national independent redistricting commission with voter ID provisions.
  • Runs a campaign site, ParentsAgainstPan.org, and a petition drive focused on his opponent's vaccine legislation.
  • Is not the incumbent for this district as drawn; the 6th District's current member is Ami Bera, who is running in the new 3rd.

Arguments in favor

  • Leaving the party lets him represent a district that does not share his old label, and he has put forward a national redistricting fix rather than defending his own side's maps.

    — Kevin Kiley, in his statement explaining the switch

  • The cost of living in California — food, fuel, housing — is the issue voters actually face, and it is what he has legislated on.

    — Kevin Kiley's campaign

Arguments against

  • He voted with the Trump administration about 90% of the time, including for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the district's rising food costs, $6 gasoline and health care cuts follow from that support.

    — Richard Pan's campaign

  • The party switch is a survival tactic rather than a change of position: he still caucuses with House Republicans and remains aligned with the party's national leadership.

    — Elk Grove News, in its analysis of the race

What we couldn’t verify

  • He does not appear to run a general campaign issues site under his own name; the positions above come from his congressional office and reporting.
  • Which party he would caucus with in the next Congress if the House majority is close.
  • His position on the federal Medicaid changes his opponent campaigns against, beyond his vote for the reconciliation bill.
Sources:kiley.house.govthehill.comcbsnews.comelkgrovenews.netballotpedia.orgprojects.propublica.org

What they say they stand for

Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.

  • Restoring health coverage he says Congress has taken from millions of Californians.
  • Public health and vaccine policy, the area he legislated in for a decade.
  • Opposition to the federal Medicaid reductions in the 2025 reconciliation law.
  • Lowering costs for families on food, fuel and housing.
  • Federal funding for Sacramento-area infrastructure.

What they’ve actually done

Documented record from official sources.

  • Member of the California State Assembly 2010–2014 and the State Senate 2014–2022.
  • Author of Senate Bill 277 (2015), which removed the personal belief exemption from California's school immunisation requirements.
  • Pediatrician by profession.
  • Candidate for mayor of Sacramento in 2024.
  • Took 23.2% in the June 2, 2026 primary, about a point behind Kiley in a crowded field.
  • Endorsed by SEIU California, AFSCME California, the California Federation of Labor Unions and 314 Action.

Arguments in favor

  • A pediatrician in Congress is exactly what is needed while federal vaccine and public health policy is being rewritten; he says the confirmation hearings for the current health secretary are why he entered the race.

    — Richard Pan, in an interview about his campaign launch

  • He has a record of passing difficult health legislation over organised opposition, and organised labour across the Sacramento region has backed him.

    — SEIU California, AFSCME California and the California Federation of Labor Unions, which endorsed him

Arguments against

  • His vaccine mandate laws, particularly the repeal of the personal belief exemption, overrode parents' decisions about their own children; Kiley's campaign describes his position as extreme and runs a site, ParentsAgainstPan.org, devoted to it.

    — Kevin Kiley's campaign

  • He is running on pandemic-era health fights at a time when voters say cost of living, housing and immigration are what they are voting on.

    — Elk Grove News, in its analysis of the race

What we couldn’t verify

  • A campaign website for the general election could not be confirmed; his stated positions here come from interviews and reporting.
  • His position on the district's transportation and water infrastructure priorities in detail.
  • How he would respond to Kiley's redistricting proposal, given that Proposition 50 created the district he is running in.
Sources:yahoo.comthecentersquare.comcbsnews.comcapradio.orgen.wikipedia.org

Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.

California's June 2, 2026 top-two primary was crowded here and close at the top: Kevin Kiley took 24.3% and Richard Pan 23.2%, and both advanced. Kiley currently represents the 3rd District, which Proposition 50 dissolved; he chose to run in the redrawn 6th, covering northern Sacramento, rather than against a fellow Republican in the 5th. He left the Republican Party in March 2026 and appears on the ballot with no party preference, though he continues to caucus with House Republicans. Roster confirmed against the California Secretary of State's returns and CBS Sacramento.

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