Late last year, voters in California voted to enact a mid-cycle redistricting campaign. This means that California’s US Congressional districts would be re-drawn to enact fairness and balance out Republican power grabs across the country. US Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley was moved from the 3rd District to the 6th District. In California’s election system, the top two candidates in a primary election move forward to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

Today, Lauren Babb Tomlinson (she/her), is running for this seat. A millennial mother, Lauren is also a Chief Public Affairs Officer for Planned Parenthood. Lauren’s platform centers on expanding access to healthcare, strengthening protections for women and workers, and preventing price gouging.

Where are you based?
Sacramento, California

What is your position/what position are you running for?
U.S. House of Representatives, California 6th District

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
As a working mom, my top priority will be to fight for your family like I fight for my own. In Congress, I’ll focus on lowering costs, increasing access to healthcare, and investing in our care economy. Now more than ever we need a new generation of leaders that understand what working families are going through and have a bold vision to get things done.

What inspired you to run?
After HR.1 was passed five health clinics were forced to close and eliminated the ability to provide family medicine, prenatal care, and behavioral health. 80% of the patients we serve are at risk of losing their health care access, and I'm tired of it.

I’m running for Congress because working families like mine deserve a voice fighting for them in Washington. As a young mom raising a one-year-old, I know firsthand how hard it is to keep a family fed, healthy, and safe. My childcare costs almost as much as my mortgage, groceries cost more every week, and the bills keep coming. Families are being asked to do more with less, and the same old playbook from career politicians just isn’t working anymore.

When I go to Congress, I want to make sure that life's affordable, people have access to high quality affordable healthcare, and we protect access to reproductive healthcare.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I live in the suburbs of Sacramento and Arden, and I’m in this community every day. Planned Parenthood serves thousands of patients across the district in Roseville and North Highlands, and I understand what it takes to fight for my neighbors. Prop 50 may have shifted the lines, but the everyday problems are still the same and I will fight for them on day one. Too often we’ve lost sight of the issues facing everyday people and the policies that unify. We need to do things differently, and that’s why I’m running to be a different kind of candidate, to champion the interests of working families like my own.

What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I’ve been on the frontlines, fighting for health care access and standing with communities devastated by Republican cuts. As the chief Public Affairs Officer at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, I've been on the front lines fighting against the federal cuts to Medicaid and as the former chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls I created a multimillion-dollar grant program to support women and families to recover after COVID-19.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Costs: I know what it’s like when your mortgage and daycare are the same amount, when the grocery bill is going up. I think every family should be able to use that money towards college savings and emergency funds, and I’m not seeing Congress prioritize affordability right now.

Access to Healthcare: As soon as the Big, Beautiful Bill was signed five of my Planned Parenthood health centers were closed, and it was absolutely devastating. We had to stop prenatal care, behavioral health and family medicine immediately. And so what that means is folks in this district and in rural communities do not have access to health care, and there is no one filling the gap.

Care Economy: I think about my grandmother, who raised me, and she ended up with Alzheimer's, and I really had to step in during high school to provide her elder care. We need a much better care economy to support our elderly and senior community, and I think strengthening and protecting Social Security and Medicaid will help us get there.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
Making life more affordable and ensuring access to health care shouldn’t be a partisan battle. In my current career, I work with people every day from all different backgrounds to find common ground.

So on day one, I want to find common ground with folks that really want to dig into the affordability issue and tackle it, and I will be able and willing to work with anybody, because at the end of the day, I want to get things done for working families.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
As a Black woman and a young, working mother, I know the struggles that working families face and will be a voice for them in Congress. My identity shapes and informs not only how I see the world but also impacts the issues I face in my daily life. As a mother to a one year old, the maternal mortality rate for Black women being more than three times higher than it is for white, Hispanic, or Asian women is an issue that is personal to me and a priority to address when I’m in Congress.

California only has three Black women currently serving in its congressional delegation. Voters in California’s 6th district have the opportunity to elect the first Black woman to serve the Sacramento area in Congress, who will advocate for issues that directly impact communities of color.

What is your motto in life?
Start with stillness.

Where can we find out more about you?
To learn more about my campaign, visit lbtforcongress.com or @lbtforcongress on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

Facebook: @lbtforcongress
Instagram: @lbtforcongress
Twitter: @lbtforcongress

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Lauren Babb Tomlinson, California's 6th Congressional District