Former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln Announces Run against Rep. Josh Harder

Former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln (R) announced on Tuesday that he will be running for California’s Ninth District Congressional seat in 2026, marking the second election in a row that Lincoln will attempt to defeat Congressman Josh Harder (D-CA).

“As a Marine, I learned the value of service and sacrifice,” Lincoln said in a statement on Tuesday. “As a mayor, I took on the status quo and fought to make our city safer, more affordable and more prosperous. Now, I’m stepping forward once again because our families deserve a strong voice in Washington D.C. that understands their struggles and will deliver real results for the Valley.”

Lincoln enters the race as a candidate with an unusually extensive resume for such a young politician. A former Marine who served on Marine One during the George W. Bush years, Lincoln also boasts of being a graduate of both Grand Canyon University and Liberty University. After working for several security firms in the Bay Ara during the 2000’s and early 2010’s, Lincoln became the head of  the LifeSong Church in Stockton.

His first step into politics came in 2016, when he ran for the Assembly, ultimately losing to then Assemblywoman Susan Eggman. However, he then succeeded in 2020 when he ran for Mayor and defeated Michael Tubbs, knocking out one of the Democratic party’s rising stars in the state. Following a full term, Lincoln set his sights on Congress in 2024 and ran against Harder, the Democratic incumbent in the Stockton-area district since 2019. Lincoln ran a close race and wound up losing by about 9,000 votes in a 52%-48% contest. However, the close race proved that Harder was now vulnerable, as was his district, which became slightly more red in the past two years, as evidenced by it being Harder’s closest election to date and both Donald Trump and Senate candidate Steve Garvey (R) both getting more votes in the district than Joe Biden and Adam Schiff respectively.

Another run for Lincoln

This closeness, in addition to the changing demographics of the district and Lincoln himself being half-black and half-Latino, led to Lincoln deciding to run again on Tuesday.

“Millionaire Democrat Josh Harder sold out the Central Valley the moment he got to Washington — trading common sense for a far-left, radical agenda that fueled inflation, opened the border, and made life harder for every Californian,” added National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Spokesman Christian Martinez. “He’s out of touch, he’s failed his district, and next November, voters will hold him accountable.”

However, Harder remains a challenge, despite his diminishing returns in the last several elections. The area still has a significant number of Democrats, and perhaps most key, Democratic donors. Meanwhile, groups opposing Lincoln have said that he will back Trump policies, including on many health-related funding issues.

“If elected, Lincoln will fail to represent the majority of Californians who support access to reproductive freedom and abortion access,” said Reproductive Freedom for All Chief Campaigns and Advocacy Officer Elizabeth Schoetz in a statement. “He is a MAGA loyalist who will vote in lock-step with Donald Trump to cut Medicaid for Californians, defund Planned Parenthood, and ban abortion nationwide.

“Representative Josh Harder has been a reproductive freedom champion for Californians, and Reproductive Freedom for All proudly supports his reelection campaign as one of the most critical races in 2026 for reproductive freedom. Electing Kevin Lincoln will mean more votes for Donald Trump’s agenda to gut funding for Medicaid, take away access to care for millions, and ultimately ban abortion in California and nationwide. Lincoln was hand-picked to run for this seat because they know that he will always support legislation to support billionaires at the expense of hardworking Californians.”

Despite this, the growing number of GOP wins in the District since 2022 show that Lincoln, and the GOP as a whole, will have a good shot in flipping the 9th District next year, with the Democrats even noting that it is one of their most “at-risk” districts. In addition to Harder and Lincoln, the primary will also include Republicans John McBride and Jim Shoemaker.