News & Press

Nonpartisan election analysts are tracking the 2024 race for California’s 3rd Congressional District as one that might become close in November.

Over the last year, The Bee has spoken to analysts across these organizations. Ten California House races are on analysts’ watch lists, including the one for the 3rd.

We’ve identified a handful of House races throughout California that are still generating campaign action...

District 3: Rep. Kevin Kiley (R) vs. Jessica Morse (D)

“It's a competitive district,” Dave Gilliard, Kiley’s campaign consultant, told Playbook. “It's a district that I think needs to be taken care of from a political standpoint.”

"This district was redrawn substantially in the latest remapping process. This is both new physical and political territory.

Districts like this are crying out for champions of their needs with a bipartisan mindset that rejects a polarized approach to politics.

Jessica Morse represents the kind of candidate that both major parties need to advance in far greater numbers. Morse can put out every type of fire."

Protect Our Winters Action Fund (POW AF) announced today its endorsement of Jessica Morse to represent CD-3 in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a dedicated advocate for climate action and the protection of our public lands, Morse is the former Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, and has a wealth of experience in protecting and preserving California’s natural resources and landscape.

A fifth-generation Northern Californian, Morse has seen a surge of grassroots support since launching her campaign. This quarter, “nearly 90% of those donations came from small-dollar donors, with contributions of $100 or less.” In the first quarter of this year, Morse brought in over $609,570 compared to incumbent Kiley’s $578,192.

Adam Schiff joined Democratic candidate for California's 3rd Congressional District, Jessica Morse, on the campaign trail for a stop at the Ikeda's California Country Market to speak with voters and meet local business owners.

"I'm honored to receive the endorsement of the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund,” said Jessica Morse (CA-03). “Their commitment to overcoming partisan gridlock to find policy solutions mirrors my approach to public service. I'm ready to work with anyone willing to set aside partisan differences to tackle our community's pressing issues."

"The right to paid family or medical leave is currently not protected by U.S. federal law, but there are several proposals (such as the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act) drafted—and candidates who are fighting to pass them. Oath, a platform that helps donors maximize their impact on the issues they care about, has helped us identify the candidates running for Congress with paid parental leave as part of their platform."

Jessica Morse, running for US Congress in our CD3 District, is a jewel that I want to shine a light on.

She has expertise on reducing the risk of wildfires. For a decade she has combated terrorism and trafficking. Jessica is a staunch advocate for reproductive rights and is intensely pragmatic and a down-to-business problem-solver.

“Kevin Kiley won by a healthy margin last time, but this is a district that is steadily trending towards Democrats that do have more arrivals to the Tahoe area, but also the Sacramento suburbs,” Wasserman said.

Democrat Jessica Morse would be Congress’ resident expert in fire management on her first day in office. She served in the Newsom administration as its deputy secretary for forest and wildland resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency.

The Republican incumbent and a Democratic challenger will vie to represent California’s 3rd Congressional District, a right-leaning stretch of the northern Sierra Nevada. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Roseville, and Democrat Jessica Morse, a former deputy secretary working on wildfire resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency, will advance to the Nov. 5 general election...

“Jessica Morse has spent her life and career working to make California a better place, and now she’s ready to take that fight to the U.S. House. California’s 3rd Congressional District deserves better than a representative who votes to take away their bodily autonomy and fundamental rights. EMILYs List is proud to endorse Morse, and we know that she can turn the tide and make sure that Republicans in Congress cannot pass their radical anti-choice agenda and take reproductive freedom away from Californians and all Americans.”

“In addition to this tremendous financial support, close to 100 individuals signed up to volunteer for the campaign. Every volunteer is important to this grassroots campaign and will help introduce me to voters across the district and win next November,” said Morse.”

Jessica Morse, a Democrat who ran to unseat Republican Tom McClintock in Congressional District 4 in 2018, announced on Tuesday that she’ll run again in Northern California — this time in an attempt to unseat Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley in District 3.

Morse has worked in a number of wildfire prevention positions including Deputy Secretary for Forest and Wildland Resilience at the California Natural Resources Agency and last year was appointed to the U.S. Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission.

California has many districts that are targets for the Democratic Party to flip. Most of them are districts that Biden won, but not all of them are that way. California’s 3rd district narrowly voted for Trump in 2020, but it was still targeted by the DCCC in 2022. Democrats were hoping to build on the fact that Biden got close to 48% here...