Trump backs Kevin McCarthy protege in California special election for former speaker’s seat
LOS ANGELES — A California lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump and a sheriff promising to harden the country’s porous borders face off in a special U.S. House election to end the remaining term of ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who and ends in January, to be completed.
State Assembly member Vince Fong, a onetime McCarthy aide who also has his support, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, both Republicans, are among a group of candidates in the solidly conservative district hoping to fill the seat the speaker left vacant when he last resigned. year.
Because of Trump’s involvement, the race will be seen as a possible proxy vote on the former president’s influence as he heads toward an all-but-certain contest against President Joe Biden in November.
McCarthy’s dramatic fall in the House of Representatives — he is the only speaker in history to be voted out of office — made for a messy race to succeed him, including an ongoing lawsuit and exposing rivalries within the Republican Party .
Republicans are expected to easily retain the seat, and the party’s fragile majority in the House is not at stake. The district, which bisects the Central Valley’s farm belt, including parts of Bakersfield and Fresno, is the strongest Republican seat in heavily Democratic California.
Republicans hold only 11 of the 52 seats in the House of Representatives, while McCarthy’s is currently vacant.
The election is likely to confuse many voters and produce poor turnout, having just seen some of the same names in the March 5 primary for the full 20th Congressional District term, which begins in January. Fong and Boudreaux advanced to the November election in that election.
The special election only covers the remainder of McCarthy’s term, which runs until early next year. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two winners will be matched in the May 21 election.
With nine names on the ballot, it seems unlikely that any candidate will cross that threshold to immediately claim the seat on Tuesday. Among the Democrats on the ballot is teacher Marisa Wood, who also sought full term.
It’s possible voters could see Fong and Boudreaux on four different ballots between March and November.
Boudreaux’s campaign is texting voters to remind them that a separate election will take place on Tuesday after receiving calls from supporters trying to resolve the matter. Likewise, Fong’s campaign is alerting voters to the runoff election, just two weeks after the primary.
“This is an unusual process,” said Fong adviser Ryan Gardiner. Given the circumstances, the campaign continued as normal after the primaries, he said.
Trump endorsed Fong in February, calling him “a true Republican.” Boudreaux’s supporters include Ric Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, and Republican Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, Fong’s home base.
Fong and Boudreaux are largely in the same policy arena, and both are conservatives who support Trump.
But there is an insider-outsider aspect to the race: Fong is McCarthy’s hand-picked choice and a product of his political operation, while the sheriff is not.
Their background also offers contrast.
Fong is a lawmaker who comes from McCarthy’s circle and says he offers “trusted, proven leadership.” He has dominated the race in fundraising. Boudreaux, the son of a detective, highlights his decades of law and order experience, saying he has “the know-how to keep us safe.”
The main issue in the race is the country’s border crisis.
Fong is anchored in Kern County, the most populous part of the district, while Boudreaux is a household name in Tulare and Kings counties. The race could be decided in Fresno County, where the two were narrowly divided during the March 5 primary because of incomplete results.