Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln explains why he’s running for Congress
Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln on Tuesday confirmed that he’s running for Congress in the 2024 election as a Republican, describing himself as a bridge builder who can maintain that priority in the nation’s capital.
“This running for Congress, for me, it’s a call to service,” Lincoln said during an interview on the KCRA 3 morning news. “It’s no different than any other season in my life, whether it’s me joining the United States Marine Corps, serving our country, serving locally in a nonprofit local church or stepping up to serve our great city as Stockton as a mayor. I’m committed to this.”
Lincoln filed his candidate paperwork Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission for the 9th congressional district, which is currently represented by Democrat Josh Harder.
He also launched a website and released a video on YouTube announcing his candidacy.
Lincoln was elected as Stockton’s mayor in the 2020 election and previously served in the Marines and was assigned to Marine One. He’s also been a pastor and nonprofit leader.
Asked why he plans to run for Congress now, Lincoln said “there’s no better time.”
“My number one priority as mayor right now is to continue to lead the city over the next 18 months,” he said, adding that means he’ll have to “dig deeper.”
Lincoln described Washington, D.C., as a place where “the first thing that comes to mind is blame, partisanship and dysfunction” and his tenure as Stockton since being elected as “nothing but bipartisanship, leadership and quite frankly nonpartisanship.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s campaign on Monday confirmed that the speaker planned to attend a fundraiser in support of Lincoln’s candidacy on Thursday.
Asked about whether he would have voted lockstep with his party for a GOP defense bill that would restrict abortion for military members and end diversity and inclusion programs, Lincoln said, “Listen, I haven’t seen that just yet.”
“But the fact of the matter is we’re going to make sure that, um…” he said, trailing off without finishing a response.
On Thursday, his campaign released a follow-up statement to KCRA 3 saying that, "based on my current understanding of the legislation, I probably would have voted yes."
The statement added, "I believe that book bans and other social issues should not be connected to increasing the pay of our dedicated service members."
Asked during KCRA's interview about how he would vote on immigration, Lincoln mentioned his background as the grandson of a Mexican immigrant.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him coming to the United States and pursuing the American dream,” he said. “We need to make sure we do everything we can to pursue legal pathways for people to gain citizenship in our nation.”
Lincoln will be battling for a district where registered Democrats represent 43.33% of voters and Republicans 28.35%, according to data from February.
A spokesperson for Rep. Harder released the following statement: “Kevin Lincoln has failed the city of Stockton, plain and simple. He diverted money away from police and now the Stockton PD is short over 100 cops. Crime and homelessness have soared on his watch. Kevin McCarthy’s grip on power is clearly hanging by a thread and this proves he’s getting more desperate by the day."