WASHINGTON — Republican Kevin Lincoln, who came within 4 points of unseating Democratic Rep. Josh Harder in California’s 9th District last year, is making another run for the competitive seat in the Central Valley.

“As a Marine, I learned the value of service and sacrifice,” Lincoln, the former mayor of Stockton, said Tuesday in a statement launching his campaign.

“As a mayor, I took on the status quo and fought to make our city safer, more affordable and more prosperous,” he said. “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.”

Harder is one of 13 House Democrats representing seats that President Donald Trump carried in last fall’s election. Republicans are optimistic that Lincoln, the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, can help them capture the district, which has a large Latino population and has been trending right. (Trump carried it by nearly 2 points in 2024, according to calculations by The Downballot.)

“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,” Christian Martinez, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a text message. “He’s out of touch, he’s failed his district, and next November, voters will hold him accountable.”

Harder is also among five California Democrats on the NRCC’s target list this cycle, along with Reps. Adam Gray, who represents a neighboring Central Valley district, and a trio of Southern California lawmakers: George Whitesides, Derek Tran and Dave Min.

A member of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, Harder was first elected to Congress in 2018, when he defeated Republican Rep. Jeff Denham to flip what was then the 10th District, anchored in Modesto. After redistricting in 2022, he opted to run in the redrawn but open 9th District, which was now centered in Stockton and more Democratic-leaning than his previous seat.

While he won a third term comfortably in 2022, Harder’s most recent reelection was considerably tougher, with Lincoln taking 48 percent of the vote.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has included Harder as one of its 26 Frontline members, which provides vulnerable incumbents with additional resources for the 2026 cycle.

The DCCC responded to Lincoln’s entry into the race by saying that House Republicans were “doubling down on a failed playbook” after voters last year had “rejected his disastrous local record.”

“Lincoln is best known for allowing costs to skyrocket and crime to run rampant as mayor,” DCCC spokesperson Anna Elsasser said in a statement. “Rest assured Lincoln would do the same in Congress — helping House Republicans raise costs on hard-working people and gut health care and food access for Valley families.”

Lincoln joins a primary that already includes two other Republicans: athletic coach John McBride, who finished third in the 2024 primary, and businessman Jim Shoemaker, who lost a bid for state Senate last fall to former Rep. Jerry McNerney.

Under California’s primary format, all candidates will run on the same ballot, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.

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