Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln confirms he will run for House District 9 seat in 2024

The Speaker of the House-backed Stockton mayor could be the next congressman from San Joaquin Valley if things go his way in fall 2024.

Mayor Kevin Lincoln’s camp confirmed Monday night that he is running for a seat in the nation’s capitol. He will officially file paperwork Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission to run for California’s 9th Congressional District seat.

He also launched a website and released a video on YouTube announcing his candidacy.

“I've lived a life of service to this community. Over the last few months, I considered where I could make the most impact for Stockton and the Valley going forward,” the mayor said. “The fact is that no matter how much progress we make as a community, Washington's culture of partisanship, blame, and neglect continues to make life harder for Stockton and Valley residents.”

Lincoln, a Republican, will try to unseat Congressman Josh Harder (D-Tracy), who garnered nearly 96,000 votes in 2022. He beat out Republican challenger Tom Patti by nearly 10 percentage points.

Lincoln gained support from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield). The duo had fundraisers already planned ahead of the mayor’s announcement.

McCarthy and members of the California Republican Congressional Delegation will be hosting a private fundraiser in support of Lincoln’s run for Congress Thursday. The media is barred from attending.

A spokesperson for Harder released a statement on Lincoln's announcement Tuesday.

"Kevin Lincoln has failed the city of Stockton, plain and simple. He diverted money away from police and now the Stockton Police Department is short over 100 cops. Crime and homelessness have soared on his watch," the statement read. "Kevin McCarthy's grip on power is clearly hanging by a thread and this proves he's getting more desperate by the day."

As of June 27, the department had 364 officers — 121 fewer than the 485 officers it has budgeted for, according to a memo Police Chief Stanley McFadden sent to Lincoln, City Manager Harry Black and the city council last month. The number is just 33 more officers than the department had in 2012, when Stockton declared bankruptcy, the memo states.

Meanwhile, Stockton had a 3% decrease in its homeless population between 2019 and 2022, according to the Continuum of Care's Point in Time count. The city did not conduct a count in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Election records show that Harder has already registered as a candidate for the District 9 seat in the 2024 general election, along with Brett Dood — a Republican and pastor from Ripon.

The candidates with the most votes in the March primary will go on to the fall election.

Stockton, Tracy, Manteca and Ripon are all part of District 9. Voters in the region lean Democratic — about 47% of registered voters are Democrats, while nearly 24% are Republican, according to state data. However, the National Republican Congressional Committee has listed District 9 as one of the 37 House seats Republicans are looking to flip in the upcoming election.

Lincoln was elected to his current position in 2020 after defeating then-Mayor Michael Tubbs in the general election. His run for Congress may come as a surprise to some — city campaign finance disclosure documents show that he launched a re-election bid for mayor in 2021 and filed a candidate intention statement on May 23. It's unclear when he decided to shift his focus to Congress.

“Under my leadership, Stockton has worked together on a bipartisan basis to address our city’s problems,” Lincoln said. “Together, we have balanced our budgets, attracted new business, lowered violent crime and homelessness, and made investments in youth.”

While hundreds of guns have been taken off Stockton streets, homicides are up 19% on the year. At his State of the City address in May, the mayor said public safety is a shared responsibility, and deterring young people from violence "starts at home."

Lincoln's bid continues the trend of one-term mayors in Stockton. Gary Podesto, who held office from 1997-2005, was the last mayor in the city to serve two terms. The Stockton mayor role is nonpartisan.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Mayor Lincoln confirms he will run for 9th Congressional seat