Kevin Lincoln, a Republican, is running for California’s 13th Congressional District in November 2026 against Democratic incumbent Adam Gray. A third-generation Stockton native and grandson of a Mexican immigrant, Lincoln holds degrees from the University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, and Liberty University. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2001, trained as a military policeman, and was assigned to the White House Military Office’s Marine One detail under President George W. Bush. After his military service, he spent eight years with a private security company in Silicon Valley before leaving corporate work in 2013 to become an executive administrative pastor overseeing a church’s finances.
Lincoln served as Mayor of Stockton from January 2021 to January 2025, unseating incumbent Michael Tubbs, and did not seek re-election. Violent crime and homicides declined during his tenure and the city funded new shelter and supportive-housing projects, though the count of unsheltered homeless residents dropped only modestly and critics said he diverted funding from a police department that remained more than 100 officers short-staffed, with some describing internal turmoil within city government during his term. He ran unsuccessfully for a different congressional seat in 2024 before launching this campaign against Gray, who holds one of the narrowest margins of any U.S. House member.
