Nail-biter in redrawn California district as Democrats could be shut out

Election results for California’s newly redrawn District 6 show a nail-biter of a race, with the Democratic candidate currently in third place by a small margin.

Read more The latest California primary election results

Current House Rep. Kevin Kiley, who switched party affiliation from Republican to independent earlier this year, is leading the race with 26.8% of the vote as of 4 a.m. on Wednesday. In second place is Republican Michael Stansfield, who has 22.2% of the vote, while Democratic challenger Dr. Richard Pan has 21.2%. Just 1,108 votes separate Stansfield and Pan with 48% of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press.

Four other Democratic challengers are in the race, three of whom are nabbing between 7% and 11% of the vote.

The newly drawn congressional district is located largely in the Sacramento area along with Roseville and Citrus Heights.

Under the California’s jungle primary system, the top two winners advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. If the current results hold, that means no Democrat will be on the general election ballot in November.

A Democratic shutout could be a headache for the party and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who supported a redistricting measure in the state last fall in the hopes of creating more Democratic-leaning congressional districts. The measure, passed by California voters, was framed as a way counteract mid-decade redistricting efforts in Republican-held states like Texas that were designed to eliminate Democratic-leaning districts.

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While Kiley switched his party affiliation in March, he has continued to caucus with Republicans and told NPR that his overall policy stance has not changed. “I’ve really tried to find ways to build bridges and to chart a different course,” he told the outlet.

On Tuesday evening, Kiley addressed his supporters after the early results came in.

“Never before has an independent been elected to Congress from California,” he said. “And we have the first results in the primary, and I would say they are very encouraging.”