Upset Brief · CA-03 · Robb Tucker (R) vs. Ami Bera (D), incumbent
Tucker gets within 12,694 votes on campaign work alone. A 4.4-point national shift finishes it.
20%
odds today
27%
odds with the plan
17,447
net votes to find
37
days left; voting starts October 5
Where
- 01+1,528Unincorporated Placer CountyStarting line Tucker +19. 3.0% split their ticket. About 10,504 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 02+952Unincorporated Sacramento CountyStarting line Bera +17. 1.8% split their ticket.
- 03+666FolsomStarting line Bera +1. 3.5% split their ticket.
- 04+502Unincorporated Nevada CountyStarting line Tucker +2. 2.2% split their ticket.
- 05+182Rancho CordovaStarting line Bera +10. 1.2% split their ticket.
- 06+175LoomisStarting line Tucker +37. 2.9% split their ticket. About 929 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
The top 12 cities and unincorporated areas carry 99% of the plan.
How
- P+3,315Persuade3,315 voters who split their ticket in recent elections and lean Bera today.
- M+784MobilizeAt least 11,695 people who voted in 2024 but not in 2022, in cities and unincorporated areas where Tucker's side wins at least 55 percent.
- C+654ConsolidateVoters who went third party in recent races, in the cities and unincorporated areas that lean Tucker's way.
Plus a national shift of 4.4 points of margin (12,694 votes) that no campaign controls.
What has to be true
- Tucker wins 50 percent of the ticket splitters now leaning Bera.
- In Unincorporated Placer County and Loomis, 35 percent of the people who voted in 2024 but skipped 2022 come back and vote.
- The national environment moves about 4.4 points toward Tucker's side between now and November 3.
- No 2026 public poll exists for this race, so the starting line is a weighted blend of official recent results; the first real poll will move it.
The numbers behind it
- 01Crossover regression559 precincts, R² 0.981, 169 crossover precincts identified
- 02Monte Carlo20,000 seeded simulated elections with a 7-point baseline error. 90% range of the final margin with the plan: -46,004 to 21,131 votes.
- 03Money, FEC candidate totals through June 30Tucker $16,000 cash on hand; Bera $1,830,338.
- 04Call program for this list13,934 households, 41,801 dials, about 2,190 live conversations: an estimated $5,872 at published rates.
Independent analysis by The Political Group from official California Secretary of State precinct returns (2022 and 2024), FEC filings and published polls, as of September 26, 2026. Not affiliated with any candidate or party.