- State
- California
- Office / race
- U.S. House
- Party
- Democratic
- Reviewed
- October 24, 2026
- District
- 6
Career timeline
The race in California’s 6th District
Richard Pan is the Democratic candidate opposing Kevin Kiley in California’s 6th Congressional District. Both appear on the House Clerk’s October general-election candidate list.
Sources: U.S. House Clerk — 2026 general-election nominees, October 8 ↗
Medicine before elected office
Pan’s archived California Senate biography traces a medical education through Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard. He earned degrees in biophysics, medicine and public health before joining the pediatric faculty at UC Davis. The archive describes him directing a pediatric residency program and working on children’s health coverage. His clinical and teaching background therefore predates his legislative career; the title “Dr.” refers to that medical training, not an honorary political designation.
Sources: California Senate archive — Richard Pan official biography ↗
A family and professional move to Sacramento
The same official biography says Pan was born in Yonkers, grew up in Pittsburgh and is the son of immigrants from Taiwan. He and his wife, dentist Wen-Li Wang, moved to Sacramento when he joined UC Davis. The public record connects that move to his subsequent health and community work. These documented details explain his route to California without treating ancestry as a substitute for his policy positions.
Sources: California Senate archive — Richard Pan official biography ↗
His legislative career has distinct dates
Pan served in the California Assembly from 2010 to 2014 and in the state Senate from 2014 to 2022. He is consequently a former state senator, not a sitting member of that chamber. Those years provide a record voters can examine independently of his present congressional promises. A state legislative career also differs from federal service: his House campaign asks voters to send him to a different institution with different powers and responsibilities.
What his congressional campaign proposes
Pan’s current campaign places health coverage, medical costs and scientific evidence near the center of its platform. It argues for protecting the Affordable Care Act and Medicare and reducing prescription-drug costs. It also supports stronger background checks for gun purchases and a path to citizenship within immigration reform. These are proposals presented by the campaign. They should be evaluated as commitments for a prospective House term, rather than described as federal measures he has already enacted.
The question for voters
His campaign’s central argument is that medical expertise should inform public policy. The practical test is how its health, affordability and public-safety promises would become legislation. Reading the platform alongside the dated legislative record helps distinguish professional credentials, past officeholding and future plans. The linked Kiley profile offers the corresponding starting point for examining the other candidate in this race.
Prepared with AI assistance. Source-based reporting checked on October 24, 2026. This article does not update automatically. Read our editorial standards.
