California's 3rd congressional district

The 3rd district once extended up the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to take in rural territory up to Tehama County.

Once a Democratic bastion, the district was pushed into more rural and Republican-leaning territory after the 1990 census, and finally elected a Republican in 1998. The 2001 reapportionment made the district more compact and Republican than its predecessor, though it was far less Republican than the neighboring 4th District. Although there was some movement in registration in favor of the Democrats, it still had a strong GOP flavor as most of the Sacramento area's Democratic voters lived in the neighboring 5th District.

While George W. Bush carried the district in 2004 with 58.2% of the vote, the district swung rapidly in the Democratic column in 2008 with Barack Obama narrowly winning a plurality with 49.28% of the vote over John McCain's 48.81%. However, despite Obama's win, in the congressional election held on the same day the Republicans retained the seat.

After redistricting, this district essentially became the 7th District, while a new 3rd was created with lines similar to what the old 3rd had in the 1990s. This version of the 3rd was considered a swing district, though the bulk of its population lives in Democratic-leaning areas in the outer Bay Area and in the closer-in suburbs of Sacramento.