The Winner

If you live in California’s 13th Congressional District, Rep. Adam Gray (D-CA) will keep representing you after winning a second term by a wide margin, two years after he took the seat by just 187 votes. The Associated Press called the race for Gray at 10:03 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, Nov. 4. ​

Gray has 80,249 votes (62.3%) to 48,632 (37.7%) for Republican Kevin Lincoln, a margin of about 25 points, with an estimated 73% of votes counted. His 2024 win over then-Rep. John Duarte (R) was the closest House race in the country that year.

The Race

Lincoln, a Marine Corps veteran, was elected Stockton mayor in 2020 and lost a 2024 bid for the neighboring 9th District. In the June 2 top-two primary, where all candidates share one ballot, Gray led with 42.0% and Lincoln finished second with 27.7%, ahead of Republican Vin Kruttiventi and Democrat Daniel Garibay Rodriguez. Lincoln conceded the day after the election, CBS News Sacramento reported.

Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated the race Likely Democratic, and Inside Elections rated it Tilt Democratic, according to Ballotpedia’s race page. The race used the new district lines California voters approved through Proposition 50 in November 2025, which the AP said made the seat more favorable to Democrats.

The redrawn district takes in all of Merced County and parts of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Madera and Fresno counties, according to the California Senate Office of Demographics. Its communities include Merced, Los Banos, Atwater, Ceres, most of Madera and parts of Modesto and Stockton.

About 785,900 people live in the district, and 66.1% of residents are Hispanic. The median household income is $69,500, and the median age is 32. Of adults, 14.1% hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is 10.4% and 18.8% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Gray’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, and he will serve in the new Democratic House majority. A member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, Gray has made water access for farmers, agriculture and health care his priorities, including legislation to expand water storage and speed up permits for water projects, according to CBS News Sacramento.

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