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California's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 top-two primary)

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2026
2022
California's 6th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Top-two primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 8, 2023
Primary: March 5, 2024
General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in California
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
California's 6th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th15th16th17th18th19th20th21st22nd23rd24th25th26th27th28th29th30th31st32nd33rd34th35th36th37th38th39th40th41st42nd43rd44th45th46th47th48th49th50th51st52nd
California elections, 2024
U.S. Congress elections, 2024
U.S. Senate elections, 2024
U.S. House elections, 2024

A top-two primary took place on March 5, 2024, in California's 6th Congressional District to determine which two candidates would run in the district's general election on November 5, 2024.

Incumbent Ami Bera and Christine Bish advanced from the primary for U.S. House California District 6.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 8, 2023
March 5, 2024
November 5, 2024



California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.[1][2]

Unlike the top-two format used in some states (Louisiana and Georgia special elections for example), a general election between the top-two candidates in California occurs regardless of whether the top candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round of elections.

As of October 2025, California was one of five states to use a top-two primary system, or a variation of the top-two system for some or all statewide primaries. See here for more information.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on California's 6th Congressional District's top-two primary. For more in-depth information on the district's general election, see the following page:

Candidates and election results

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 6

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 6 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ami Bera
Ami Bera (D)
 
51.8
 
76,605
Image of Christine Bish
Christine Bish (R) Candidate Connection
 
20.1
 
29,628
Image of Raymond Riehle
Raymond Riehle (R)
 
10.7
 
15,779
Image of Craig DeLuz
Craig DeLuz (R) Candidate Connection
 
9.7
 
14,361
Image of Adam Barajas
Adam Barajas (D) Candidate Connection
 
5.9
 
8,711
Image of Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson (G)
 
1.8
 
2,661

Total votes: 147,745
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Image of Adam Barajas

WebsiteXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I'm a Bernie Sanders progressive Democrat. I take no money from corporations, billionaires, Super PACs or lobbyists. I've worked as a delivery driver at Amazon, overnight stocker at Walmart, dishwasher and food prep at local diners, and currently work as a retail worker at a grocery store. I was inspired by Bernie Sanders and Martin Luther King to get into politics and now I want to follow in their foot steps and continue their work in fighting for the impoverished not only in this country but eventually around the world. "


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


I support Medicare-For-All. Millions of people are uninsured or under insured, 45,000 people die every year due to lack of access to basic healthcare, and millions of people are rationing their prescription medication all because it's all too expensive; people can't afford their health. As a congressman I fight to eliminate the Medicare minimum age requirement and grant healthcare to all ages and expand coverage to dental, vision, hearing, mental and all prescription medication. Medicare-For-All also saves about $400billion per year, which can be spent on improving wages, benefits and working conditions for healthcare workers and on building more hospitals and hiring more staff.


I support abortion rights and bringing back Roe v Wade. We must ban states from outlawing abortion and we must put massive public pressure on the Supreme Court to reverse their recent Roe v Wade decision; maybe by implementing term limits for Supreme Court justices and having them voted in as opposed to being chosen by the President.


End Israel's terrorism and genocide on the Palestinians. We must block all weapons and money from going to Israel; we can't be aiding a genocide. We must also arrest the Israeli officials responsible and put them on trial for war crimes.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 6 in 2024.

Image of Christine Bish

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I am Christine Bish, a seasoned small business owner and Sacramento resident with a residency spanning over three decades. Throughout my tenure in this community, I have actively contributed to various community-based organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America and serving as the Vice-Chair for the Oakmont High School Site Council. Notably, I assumed the role of Sacramento Area Chair for the Educational Freedom Initiative, an initiative championed by Dr. Milton Friedman. In my capacity as a guest speaker for The Conservative Voice in Riverside, California, I engaged in a compelling debate on the imperative of School Choice in the state. As a local Realtor deeply embedded in the community, I possess a keen understanding of its needs and aspirations. Employing a "boots on the ground" approach, I am committed to assisting individuals in securing affordable, quality housing while adeptly navigating the intricacies of Federal, State, and Local laws and regulations. Drawing upon my extensive experience, I command a profound knowledge of the mortgage industry and State and Federal loan programs. My professional background includes over fifteen years as a skip tracer, specializing in locating witnesses, assets, and conducting background investigations. During my decade-long tenure with a local law firm, I garnered national recognition for my achievements with key clients. I pledge to represent all constituents of my district regardless of political views."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Illegal Immigration and Border Security. Americans are mad, and they ought to be- The Biden Administration is allowing an invasion on our Southern Border. I pledge to be a strong advocate for securing our borders and ending sanctuary cities. I will also stand behind Texas and any border state that takes action to protect their citizens. Reducing Crime Rates by resolving the homeless crisis, empowering law enforcement and border security


Overcoming Inflation by eliminating reckless uncontrolled spending (For example, passing the Omnibus Bill without reading it will overburden American taxpayers for generation to come). • Strengthening Businesses by decreasing regulations and offering tax breaks. To address the financial struggles endured by our senior citizens, I am pledging to draft and pass legislation that will play a pivotal role in alleviating the burdens on this demographic by eliminating taxes on their hard-earned Social Security benefits, providing the relief they deserve.


Ensuring Election Integrity by implementing fair and transparent voting procedures to prevent election and voter fraud Equally important is my commitment to safeguarding parents' rights within the education system. I will work to ensure that parents maintain control over the upbringing and education of their children, preventing any encroachment on these fundamental rights by the school system. Defending Our Freedoms by ending unconstitutional mandates and ending mandatory employee CRT training

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 6 in 2024.

Image of Craig DeLuz

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "Craig DeLuz is a small business owner and elected official with more than 30 years of experience in California politics. DeLuz was elected to Robla School District in 2005 where he has served as President for over 10 years on the Board. During his term, he has made STEAM education a priority and led the charge to transform Robla campuses into state-of-the-art facilities that prepare students for the jobs of the future. WORKING CLASS ROOTS Craig’s Mom and Dad Originally from the Bay Area, DeLuz grew up in a working-class household, where his father, John DeLuz, a WW2 Air Force Veteran, worked as a warehouse supervisor, and his mother, El Vera, took care of Craig and his brothers and sisters. DeLuz learned the values of hard work, commitment, and integrity through his parents who were dedicated to making ends meet for their family. He went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in business finance from California State University, Chico, where he was elected as the first Black President of the Associated Student Government in the University’s 100-year history. DeLuz has also served as a legislative staffer to California Assemblymen Kevin Jeffries and Tim Leslie and has an extensive history as a media professional, policy analyst, and grassroots activist in the Greater Sacramento region. Craig and his wife Sobna live in North Sacramento. They have two children, Craig Jr. and Jazmine."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


We Must Address The Root Causes of The Homelessness Crisis Recognizing the link between homelessness, mental health problems, and drug addiction, we should allocate resources to improve access to first-rate mental health care and substance abuse treatment, rehabilitation services, and job training. We must require beneficiaries of these services to actively participate in the programs and be committed to their own recovery, and the state must collect data to measure the effectiveness of our efforts to guide further public investment and improve services.


We Need a Return to Public Safety All Californians are entitled to feel safe at home, work, school, and in places of worship. Victims of crime should be supported and we should work to rehabilitate incarcerated individuals so that, once released, they can successfully integrate into their communities. We must prioritize public safety, restore and maintain a professional and accountable police force, and enforce the laws already on the books.


Empower The Parents School choice plays an important role in fostering competition, innovation, and accountability. We must continue to advocate for expanding educational options such as charter schools, magnet schools, and voucher programs. By giving parents the power to choose the best educational setting for their children, we can help ensure students receive an education tailored to their needs. We advocate for greater transparency in all schools so parents can participate fully in their children’s education.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House California District 6 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in California

Election information in California: March 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: March 5, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by Feb. 20, 2024
  • Online: Feb. 20, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: N/A by N/A
  • Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: March 5, 2024
  • By mail: Postmarked by March 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Varies to March 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (PST)


Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Ami Bera Democratic Party $1,250,011 $1,111,772 $1,873,372 As of December 31, 2024
Adam Barajas Democratic Party $450 $0 $450 As of March 31, 2024
Christine Bish Republican Party $182,260 $182,368 $50 As of December 31, 2024
Craig DeLuz Republican Party $32,126 $32,079 $47 As of December 31, 2024
Raymond Riehle Republican Party $48,647 $48,107 $540 As of December 31, 2024
Chris Richardson Green Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ca_congressional_district_06.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in California.

California U.S. House primary competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office Districts/
offices
Seats Open seats Candidates Possible primaries Contested top-two primaries % of contested primaries Incumbents in contested primaries % of incumbents in contested primaries
2024 52 52 7 241 52 42 80.8% 36 80.0%
2022 52 52 5 272 52 52 100.0% 47 100.0%
2020 53 53 4 262 53 47 88.7% 32 64.0%
2018 53 53 2 244 53 41 77.4% 39 76.5%
2016 53 53 4 202 53 40 75.5% 36 73.5%
2014 53 53 6 209 53 38 71.7% 32 68.1%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in California in 2024. Information below was calculated on 1/16/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Two-hundred forty-one candidates filed to run for California's 52 U.S. House districts in 2024, including 125 Democrats, 88 Republicans, and 28 independent or minor party candidates. That’s 4.63 candidates per district. In 2022, the first election after the number of congressional districts in California decreased from 53 to 52 following the 2020 census, 5.2 candidates filed per district. In 2020, when the state still had 53 Congressional districts, 4.94 candidates filed per district. In 2018, 4.6 candidates filed.

The 241 candidates who ran in California in 2024 were the fewest total number of candidates since 2016, when 202 candidates ran. Forty-five incumbents—34 Democrats and 11 Republicans—ran for re-election. That was fewer than in 2022, when 47 incumbents ran. Six districts were open, one more than in 2022, and the most since 2014, when six districts were also open.

Incumbents Barbara Lee (D-12th), Adam Schiff (D-30th), and Katie Porter (D-47th) ran for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Incumbent Sen. Laphonza Butler (D) didn't run for re-election. Incumbents Grace Napolitano (D-31st), Tony Cárdenas (D-29th), and Anna Eshoo (D-16th) retired from public office. One incumbent—Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-20th)—left Congress before the end of his term. A special election was held to fill his seat before the general election.

Fifteen candidates—12 Democrats, two Republicans, and one nonpartisan—ran in the open 30th district, the most candidates running for a seat in 2024.

Forty-two primaries were contested, the fewest since 2018, when 41 were contested. All 52 primaries were contested in 2022, and 47 were in 2020. In California, which uses a top-two primary system, a primary is contested if more than two candidates file to run.

Incumbents ran in 35 of the 42 contested primaries. That’s lower than 2022, when 47 incumbents ran in contested primaries, but higher than every other year since 2014. In 2020, 32 incumbents faced contested primaries. Thirty-nine incumbents did so in 2018, 36 in 2016, and 32 in 2014.

Democratic candidates ran in every district. Republican candidates ran in every district except one—the 37th. Two Democrats, including incumbent Sydney Kamlage-Dove, one nonpartisan candidate, and one Peace and Freedom Party member ran in that district.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+7. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 7 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made California's 6th the 148th most Democratic district nationally.[3]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in California's 6th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
57.9% 39.4%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.[4] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline Democratic Party Republican Baseline Republican Party Difference
56.4 43.0 R+13.3

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in California, 2020

California presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 15 Democratic wins
  • 15 Republican wins
  • 1 other win
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winning Party R R R P[5] D R R R D D D D D R R R D R R R R R R D D D D D D D D
See also: Party control of California state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of California's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from California
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 43 45
Republican 0 9 9
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 52 54

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in California's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in California, May 2024
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Eleni Kounalakis
Secretary of State Democratic Party Shirley Weber
Attorney General Democratic Party Rob Bonta

State legislature

California State Senate

Party As of February 2024
     Democratic Party 32
     Republican Party 8
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 40

California State Assembly

Party As of February 2024
     Democratic Party 62
     Republican Party 18
     Independent 1
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 80

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

California Party Control: 1992-2024
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor R R R R R R R D D D D D R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Assembly D D D S R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in California in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
California U.S. House All candidates 40-60 $1,740.00[6] 12/8/2023 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
Ami Bera (D)
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Adam Gray (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Ro Khanna (D)
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
Jim Costa (D)
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
Raul Ruiz (D)
District 26
District 27
District 28
Judy Chu (D)
District 29
Luz Rivas (D)
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
Ted Lieu (D)
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Young Kim (R)
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
Dave Min (D)
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
District 52
Democratic Party (45)
Republican Party (9)