CA03 Congressional District Candidate Forum Set as Ballot Returns Lag Ahead of June 2 Primary
The Proposition 50 revised district includes Alpine, Inyo, Mono, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, and Placer counties, along with portions of El Dorado, Sacramento, and Yuba counties
A Sacramento-area coalition of community organizations will host a candidate forum this week for California’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District, although it remains unclear which candidates will appear as voters continue returning ballots at a relatively slow pace ahead of the June 2 primary election.
The forum, scheduled for Thursday, May 21, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at La Familia Maple Neighborhood Center in Sacramento, is being organized by Alianza, United Latinos, the Sacramento Climate Coalition, and the Sacramento Poor People’s Campaign. Organizers said the event is intended to allow voters to hear candidates discuss issues including housing affordability, health care, immigration, education, jobs, environmental protection, and criminal justice reform.
The event comes during the first election cycle following voter approval of Proposition 50, which substantially reshaped congressional district boundaries across California. The revised district includes Alpine, Inyo, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, and Sierra counties, along with portions of El Dorado, Sacramento, and Yuba counties.
The district stretches from Sacramento-area suburbs including Folsom, Roseville and Auburn to rural and mountain communities such as Truckee, Mammoth Lakes and Bishop.
Candidate participation had not been publicly confirmed as of Wednesday.
Among the candidates on the June 2 ballot is incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, who currently represents California's 6th Congressional District and is seeking election in the newly configured 3rd District. However, Bera's attendance appears uncertain because Congress is in session this week in Washington, D.C.
The June primary field includes Bera and fellow Democrats Chris Bennett, Lyndon Cervantes, and Heidi Hall. Republican candidates are Christine Bish, Laura Koscki and Robb Tucker. Green Party candidate Chris Richardson is also on the ballot.
Organizers said the forum format will include one-minute opening statements, moderated questions, a rapid-response yes-or-no segment, audience questions, and closing remarks.
“This forum is about creating space for community voices and ensuring candidates address the issues people are facing every day,” organizer Faye Wilson Kennedy said in the announcement. “Residents deserve the opportunity to hear directly from those seeking to represent them in Congress.”
Meanwhile, early voting numbers indicate turnout in the district remains modest, less than two weeks before Election Day.
According to Political Data Inc. tracking data through May 19, 33,778 ballots had been returned in the district, representing 7.1 percent turnout, while 443,923 ballots remained outstanding. Republican voters had returned 14,194 ballots, or 9.5% of those issued, compared with 12,246 Democratic ballots, or 6.6 percent.
Voters age 65 and older continued to drive participation, accounting for 20,207 returned ballots and a turnout rate of 13.7 percent, substantially outpacing younger voters.
Voters in California's top-two primary system will select candidates on June 2, with the top two advancing to the November general election regardless of party affiliation.
