More Musical Chairs If Ashby Jumps into the 6th Congressional District Race -A State Senate Seat Opens

The race for California's 6th Congressional District has drawn significant attention and a large number of candidates.

After the District's current representative Dr. Ami Bera, announced he would seek the newly drawn 3rd congressional District, Dr. Richard Pan, who had announced his candidacy for the 3rd, switched and is now running for the 6th District.

Yesterday, Sacramento County District Attorney entered the race as the third Democratic candidate. On Monday, Lauren Babb Tomlinson, chief public affairs officer at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, announced that she is running.

Interestingly, State Senator Angelique Ashby's name has been floating around as a possible congressional candidate for the last couple of weeks. In a published report, Ashby acknowledged she is considering jumping into the 6th District race.

If Ashby enters that race, she would not be able to run for a second State Senate term in 2026. A Congressional run would be a risky move for Ashby, as a defeat in the primary or general election would leave her out of office in any capacity. Of course, a victory would elevate her to Washington, DC, something that is equally appealing to Ho, Pan, and Tomlinson.

However, if Ashby runs, it is not inconceivable that California Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen of Elk Grove, who would meet the residency requirement for the Senate district, could jump into the race for that Senate seat. Should Nguyen enter that race, it would create an opening for the 10th Assembly District.

Would Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen jump into that race? For Singh-Allen, it is a logical progression and a relatively low-risk move.

If Singh-Allen did not advance from the June primary, she could still seek reelection as Mayor in June, as Elk Grove city elections are only on the November ballot, and the filing deadline for Elk Grove elections is not until late July.

Likewise, Elk Grove City Councilman Darren Suen, who has long sought an Assembly seat, could jump in the race. Wouldn't that be something to see Suen and Singh-Allen and other candidates face off in the Assembly race?

Or possibly Suen, who unsuccessfully ran for Elk Grove Mayor in 2018, could run for Mayor should Singh-Allen advance. Suen would be halfway through his term as he was in 2018, so another defeat wouldn't mean he would be out of elected office.

Of course, if Singh-Allen and Suen run for Assembly in the primary election, and depending on who advances to the November general election, that could create openings for the District 1 and Mayoral positions. Would Elk Grove District 3 Councilman Kevin Spease, who is midway through his second term and had run for Mayor in 2016, run for Mayor again?

If Senator Ashby jumps into the race for the 6th Congressional District, expect a whole slew of elected officials and other jockeying for position in Elk Grove and the Sacramento region in the coming weeks.