Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln has conceded defeat in his congressional race against incumbent U.S. Rep. Josh Harder.
Harder, a Democrat, was first elected to Congress in 2018, and on Monday declared victory in last week’s election for California’s District 9 seat, which represents parts of San Joaquin, Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties.
Across the three counties, Harder had 117,071 votes compared to 108,946 for Lincoln — a difference of 8,215 as of the latest unofficial results released Wednesday. That lead has only grown since Election Day, prompting Lincoln on Wednesday to acknowledge that he fell short.
“While the results are not what we had hoped for, I remain incredibly proud of the journey we’ve shared and the incredible progress we’ve made together,” Lincoln, a Republican, said in a statement.
“I remain committed to our community and our shared mission to make the Valley a better place. This campaign may have ended, but the work continues. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” his statement ended.
Earlier in the week Harder had already declared victory.
“Tallying up every vote takes time, and with today’s results, we are confident we’ve won. I’m incredibly grateful and honored our community put their faith in me once again,” he said Monday.
Lincoln became Stockton’s mayor in 2020 by defeating Michael Tubbs, a Democrat who was elected in 2016 as the city’s youngest and first Black mayor and championed universal basic income programs. An HBO documentary earlier in 2020 titled “Stockton on My Mind” followed Tubbs during his tenure as mayor.
Harder defeated incumbent Republican Jeff Denham in 2018 and won his two subsequent elections to stay in Congress ahead of this year’s race. In 2022, he defeated San Joaquin County Supervisor and Republican Tom Patti, who was running to replace Lincoln as Stockton’s mayor, but as of the county’s latest results, was losing to former Councilmember and Democrat Christina Fugazi.