Mayor Kevin Lincoln, a veteran of the Marine Corps and Republican mayor of Stockton, California has announced his candidacy for California’s ninth congressional district.
He is looking to unseat current Representative Josh Harder (D-CA).
This announcement comes ahead of what was supposed to be a private fundraising event on Thursday which was headlined by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and attended by other members of the GOP congressional delegation.
NEW: @SpeakerMcCarthy will be hosting a fundraiser next Thursday for Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln who will announce a run for #CA9 currently held by Dem Rep. Josh Harder. pic.twitter.com/QmXqE0Dwej
— Nikki Laurenzo (@NikkiLaurenzo) July 15, 2023
On Tuesday, Lincoln released an announcement video in which he focused on both local and national issues. He asserted that politicians in Washington have neglected his district, which contains parts of San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Contra Costa counties.
Under his tenure as mayor of Stockton, he claims 3,000 new businesses have surfaced while violent crime and homelessness decreased.
Pastor Brett Dood withdrew his candidacy last Friday and voiced support for Lincoln instead.
In the midterm elections Harder defeated Tom Patti with 54.8% to 45.2%.
Though Patti won Stanislaus and Contra Costa Counties, Harder took San Joaquin County by 11%.
The California Target Book reported however that all Republican statewide candidates won this district last cycle.
It remains to be seen if Mayor Kevin Lincoln will succeed in unseating representative Josh Harder or not but it is certain that he will make a strong case towards it!
With the backing from House Speaker McCarthy as well as Pastor Brett Dood’s support it could prove to be an interesting race.
