By GARTH STAPLEY
CV Journalism Collaborative
President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln in his bid to unseat Rep. Adam Gray in next year’s campaign for California’s 13th Congressional District.
“Kevin Lincoln has my Complete and Total Endorsement – HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.
Lincoln, a Republican, declared himself “honored and thankful” in a post on X. “I look forward to working with the President and his team.”
Attempts to reach Gray on Thursday were unsuccessful, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Gray “is a proven leader who puts the Valley first.”
“Failed mayor and repeat loser Kevin Lincoln wasted no time proving he answers to his Washington party bosses over the Central Valley,” said Anna Elsasser, western regional DCCC press secretary.
News of Trump’s support for Lincoln caused Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez to “step back” from his campaign for the same seat, he told The Modesto Focus on Thursday.
“The writing is on the wall,” said Lopez, who had been the first Republican to declare candidacy for the 13th District earlier this year. “I’m considering dropping out.”
The 13th District’s former representative, Republican John Duarte, initially endorsed Lopez but switched to Lincoln. Gray beat Duarte by a mere 187 votes in 2024.
Lincoln last year unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Democratic Rep. Josh Harder in the Ninth District, which centers on Stockton. A 2026 rematch was expected until California voters approved Proposition 50 in November.
That ballot measure shifted boundaries of the 13th – whose heart is Merced County and also includes about half of Stanislaus County – to also include a finger jutting into San Joaquin County and Stockton. The shift was designed to make the district lean a bit to the left, helping Gray’s chances at retaining a seat in a region that has bounced from left to right over the years.
Two days after Prop. 50 passed, Lincoln switched his aim from Harder to Gray.
Declarations for U.S. House campaigns began Friday.
Of five candidates listed so far by the Federal Election Commission, Gray had raised the most campaign money at $1.73 million as of Sept. 30, the end of the last reporting period.
Republican Vin Kruttiventi had raised $486,973 by then – before hosting controversial GOP firebrand Matt Gaetz at an Oct. 22 Merced event opposing Prop. 50, and Lincoln had $278,809. The Modesto Focus reached out to Kruttiventi for comment, but he did not respond.
Others are Lopez with $142,117 and Democrat Angelina Sigala with nothing. David Giglio of Clovis has an exploratory committee, his website says.
Lincoln was mayor of Stockton from 2021 to 2024.
“President Trump and Californians know Kevin Lincoln will be a fighter who puts California’s working families first,” the National Republican Congressional Committee said Thursday.
— Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact him at garth@cvlocaljournalism.org.
