After Proposition 50, California's Democratic congressional candidates look to take advantage of voter-approved changes
In the wake of Proposition 50 and the redrawing of California's congressional districts in favor of Democrats, several San Francisco Bay Area candidates are looking to maximize that impact during a time of intense division across the country.
District 8 Rep. John Garamendi, District 9 Rep. Josh Harder and District 10 Rep. Mark DeSaulnier are each seeking reelection in areas along the Sacramento Delta that were changed last fall after the ballot measure.
California voters approved Proposition 50 last year to effectively gerrymander the state in order to add five more Democrats to California's congressional caucus in response to Republican-led states gerrymandering their own congressional maps. In contrast to California, those states did not seek voter approval.
The Sacramento Delta will play a major role in that effort in Northern California.
District 8 is still overwhelmingly Democratic, but has been diluted from a plus-50 Democratic district to plus-37, with the removal of Martinez and Antioch, according to the nonpartisan newsletter Inside Elections. Those areas were replaced with Davis and parts of Discovery Bay.
In Democratic efforts to rein in the Trump administration, Garamendi said the party needs to show it can support a "just and equitable economy."
"I am able to bring to bear the history and use that for the benefit of my constituents," Garamendi said. "There is no other person in Congress that has the years, has the experience that I have, to bring to bear on the issues that confront Congress today."
Garamendi identified five elements for Democrats to pursue: funding education, support for housing, reinvesting in research and development, reinvigorating the business sector, and restoring international relationships that have frayed since President Donald Trump returned to office.
"I am right smack in the middle of all five of them," Garamendi said, noting the maritime industry in San Pablo Bay and the biotech and agriculture business corridor along Interstate 80. "We're talking about thousands of good-paying union jobs that would be built as we utilize the existing shipyards and improve them and build American vessels to compete with China."
In his race for reelection in the June 2 primary, Garamendi faces fellow Democrats Aaron Rowden and Nicolas Carjuzaa, and Republican Rudy Recile.
Rowden acknowledged Garamendi's effort to protect the maritime industry, but said the Mare Island Dry Dock had shuttered "under his watch." Rowden said Democrats need to fight for a progressive vision of the country, a generational project that goes beyond a single term.
"I do believe the people of this district deserve a real debate about the method of getting to our shared view of what is good: a just system of immigration," Rowden said. "A just system of compensation for working families. A system of healthcare that functions and actually covers all people, not just those who can afford it."
Garamendi is seeking his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. At 81, he dismissed concerns about his age and health - he was previously diagnosed with a rare but treatable blood cancer in 2024.
"My cancer is in remission, has been for a year, and so the outlook is that I'll continue to be in remission. So it's under control. My health is very, very good," Garamendi said. "Someday - not in the next election or maybe not in the next two or three elections - I will not be running for office. But I am most definitely running for office in (2026), and I intend to run for office in (2028)."
If reelected, the District 8 congressman would become one of the 10 oldest Democrats in the House.
"There is no other person in Congress, the Senate or Congress, that has the years, has the experience, that I have to bring to bear on the issues that confront Congress today," Garamendi said. "Our task is to create an atmosphere of political fear for the House Republicans in every seat."
The deep-blue areas of Martinez and Antioch have been packed into the previously competitive District 9 in San Joaquin County, according to Inside Elections. The district included the cities of Tracy, Lodi, Manteca and Stockton. It slightly favored Democrats.
The new map incorporates Martinez and Antioch and removes a significant portion of the more conservative suburbs of San Joaquin County. It is now considered a safe plus-17 Democratic district that is noncompetitive for Republicans, according to Inside Elections.
Despite the perceived odds, Harder faces a handful of Republican challengers in Khalid Jeffrey Jafri, John McBride, Parminder Singh and Martin Veprauskas.
DeSaulnier's District 10 is unchanged from a political context - it remains plus 30 in favor of Democrats - and has changed only slightly demographically, adding a greater share of Martinez, Discovery Bay and Castro Valley, while losing a small portion of eastern Dublin and the area north of Oakley.
The incumbent is running against Democrats Joshua Hamilton and Mitchell Maisler, as well as Republicans Bob Rowland, Jeff Frese, Angela Griffiths and Katherine Piccinini. DeSaulnier beat Piccinini in 2024.
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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 1:02 AM.