Where is Nikki Ellis? Sacramento Assembly candidate trades campaign for world travels

With less than three weeks until the November election, the Republican candidate for a state legislative seat representing the heart of California’s capital city has swapped her campaign for a far-flung international tour.

Nikki Ellis has not reported any campaign activity or fundraising with the Secretary of State’s office since filing to run for the seat. A campaign website lists affordability and homelessness as her top issues but she does not appear to have participated in any other campaign activity since she advanced from the March 5 primary.

However, Ellis’ publicly available Instagram has documented swings through several international destinations since March, including Germany, Iceland, Costa Rica, Portugal and Colombia.

In early October, Ellis appeared to hop continents and posted daily snapshots of scenic coastlines, colorful spice markets and local wildlife in Cape Town, South Africa via Instagram Stories.

A bio for her page said Ellis is “searching for refuge from California’s insanity but first taking a detour around the world.”

Ellis did not respond to multiple attempts at contact via phone, email and social media for this story.

Her Instagram page also documents a trade mission to Japan in early 2023 as part of her work with the California Chamber of Commerce. One photo shows Ellis with Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, who led the trip, according to new releases from Kounalakis’ office and CalChamber .

Ellis discussed the trip in a 2023 Capitol Weekly profile and described the satisfaction she felt in working with people from around the world.

She described CalChamber as “a home away from home” and said she appreciated “its mission to make California a better place to do business.”

She no longer works for CalChamber, the organization confirmed.

Ellis has declined to participate in candidate interviews with The Sacramento Bee and other local news outlets ahead of the November 5 election. Attempts to reach her again for this story were not successful.

She faces Maggy Krell, a Democrat and assistant attorney general at the California Department of Justice, in the November election. The two are vying to replace Assembly member Kevin McCarty, also a Democrat, representing the California Assembly’s 6th District.

The two emerged from a crowded, 10-person March primary in which seven Democratic candidates fractured the Sacramento-centered district’s liberal vote. Krell finished with 25% of the total vote and Ellis had 15%.

Krell declined to comment. The California Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.

Dan Schnur, a former chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said if a candidate has a campaign website, “that means they have spent money.”

“Even if it’s a small amount, that would require them to file disclosure forms,” he said, something Ellis has not done. Candidates who break campaign finance laws could face fines.

Candidates who do not plan to raise or spend more than $2,000 in an election cycle must still file paperwork stating their intentions. The Secretary of State’s office confirmed it had no campaign paperwork for Ellis.