Amid the dizzying array of candidates in this year’s Nov. 3 general election, remembering the candidates in District 9 for U.S. Congress is easy: It’s the coach vs. the congressman.
The coach is John McBride, a Republican who spent decades working with student athletes at Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton and the University of the Pacific. The congressman is U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, a Democrat who has served in Congress since 2019.
McBride is running as a down-to-earth outsider and self-described underdog. “I’m a coach and not a politician,” he proudly told Stocktonia.
Harder is seeking reelection based on his legislative record and activism in the district, which includes Stockton. He’s been vocal on a wide range of issues, from working to improve conditions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees to trying to ensure the prosecution of mail thieves.
When it comes to campaign funds, McBride’s characterization of being the underdog seems appropriate. He had only $52,177 in contributions and loans compared to Harder’s $4.2 million as of June 30, the most recent data collected by the Federal Election Commission.
Until the last election cycle, District 9 was up for grabs by candidates of either party. Harder beat former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, a Republican, by a slim 51.8% to 48.2% margin in 2024. Yet in the same election and same district, the party preferences for president were flipped. President Donald Trump triumphed over Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, by a 49.4% to 47.6% margin, one analysis shows.
All of that was before congressional redistricting, however. The district was gerrymandered in 2025 thanks to Proposition 50 to add more voters who are registered Democratic, thus making it a safer bet for Harder. California voters agreed to the change in response to a similar move in Texas, which supported the GOP at Trump’s behest.
▶ Learn about local, state and national races in our 2026 Voter Guide.
▶Congressional District 7: Meet the candidates here.
▶Congressional District 9: Meet the candidates here.
“The district is so heavily tilted toward the Democrats now,” University of the Pacific associate professor of political science Keith Smith said of the new District 9.
McBride isn’t deterred by the change, nor is he a complete unknown to voters. He ran in the 2024 primary election for Harder’s seat. He stayed on the ballot even when other Republican candidates dropped out to make way for Lincoln, who was considered by party leader to have the best chance of winning.
McBride’s gambit to increase his name recognition paid off last year when Lincoln decided against a rematch of Harder in District 9. Lincoln filed instead to challenge U.S. Rep. Adam Gray, the Democrat who barely won District 13 in 2024. That district now includes downtown Stockton and runs south along Interstate 5 through the Central Valley.
McBride, 66, was raised in Connecticut. He moved to California in 1989 to become the strength and conditioning coach at UOP in Stockton. He worked there for 12 years before moving to Saint Mary’s High School to become a coach. He had that job for 13 years.
He and his wife raised five children in the area. He lives in Lodi.
Both McBride and Harder can claim roots that will resonate with local supporters.
McBride said he is a “constitutional conservative and is descended from a signer of the Declaration of Independence.”
Harder said his family has inhabited the San Joaquin Valley for five generations. His great-great-grandfather arrived via wagon train to search for gold and ended up owning a peach farm in Manteca. He attended both Stanford and Harvard universities.
Today, Harder, 40, lives in Tracy with his wife and two children. In his time in Congress, he said he is most proud of reducing wait times at Veterans Administration healthcare facilities.
On the environmental front, he authored a bill winding its way through Congress to fund ways to stop the spread of invasive golden mussels, which have run rampant through California’s inland waterways since being discovered in the Port of Stockton two years ago. He’s also been trying to find ways to bring more business to the port.
Both Harder and McBride say they have been talking to voters about their concerns.
Harder said his constituents demand both affordability when they go shopping and accountability from their political leaders.
“Most people feel like they didn’t get the right answers from either party,” he said. “Voters here are pretty frustrated.”
McBride said he’s finding people are concerned as well — but over different issues. For instance, he said an overwhelming majority don’t want to see biological males who changed their sex to female competing in women’s sports or using women’s locker rooms.
He’s also a strong believer in the need to stop illegal immigration. “A nation without borders is not a nation,” he said.
But he believes there should be a path for law-abiding people in the country illegally who have established strong community roots to stay in the U.S., short of becoming citizens. He proposes the creation of a “blue card” that would cover non-citizens who don’t have a green card.
McBride argues that Harder has failed to do enough to support farmers, especially cattle ranchers and wine-grape growers. With scores of acres of grapevines going unplanted or being plowed under amid a downturn in the wine industry, he says Harder could have authored a bill a try to stop wine imports from other countries. Likewise, Harder could have done more to help ranchers, like trying to protect the beef industry from lab-grown meats, McBride said.
McBride also supports the White House’s goal of the war with Iran: ridding the nation of nuclear weapons. He rebuffs claims that fuel prices are elevated because of higher oil prices due to the war, and says pain at the pump is caused by a shortage in refining capacity, particularly in California, which has lost many refineries.
Considering the opposing positions of the two candidates, it may boil down to a simpler choice for some voters.
McBride is “a very personable individual,” while “Harder has done a lot for the district,” said Joel Blank, a political science professor at San Joaquin Delta College.
That may be enough to decide which box to check on the ballot.