Richard Pan

Richard Pan is a pediatrician and former UC Davis faculty member who served in the California State Assembly from 2010 to 2014 and the State Senate from 2014 to 2022, where he chaired the Senate Health Committee. His campaign website says he authored legislation to raise school vaccination rates after the 2015 Disneyland measles outbreak. He is running as a Democrat on a platform of protecting health care and basing federal policy on science.[1][2]

Pan describes himself as the son of Taiwanese immigrants who received a good public school education.[1] He earned a B.S. from Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in public health from Harvard University, and an M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.[2] He worked as a physician at UC Davis Children's Hospital and as an associate professor of pediatrics at UC Davis, and, according to his campaign website, led UC Davis' Pediatric Residency Program.[2][1] The website also says he founded Communities and Physicians Together, a program partnering pediatricians with neighborhoods, and co-founded 'Healthy Kids Healthy Future,' which it says provided health, dental and vision coverage to over 65,000 children in the Sacramento region.[1]

Pan was elected to the California State Assembly in 2010 and served District 9 until 2014.[2][1] He was then elected to the California State Senate, took office in December 2014 and represented District 6 until December 2022, chairing the Senate Health Committee and the Public Employment and Retirement Committee.[2][1] His campaign website says TIME magazine named him a 'hero' for legislation to increase school vaccination rates after the 2015 Disneyland measles outbreak, and that he authored state laws on pre-existing conditions, youth sports smoking bans and prescription drug costs.[1]

Pan advanced from the June 2, 2026 top-two primary, finishing second behind Kiley, to the general election in the 6th District.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.