United States – A California legislator endorsed by former President Donald Trump as well as a sheriff who promises to make the U.S. borders harder to cross are competing in a special election to fill out the remaining term of deposed former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy until sometime in January.
Trump’s Endorsement Influence
The candidates in this predominantly conservative district include Assemblymember Vince Fong, a former aide to McCarthy who also has his support, and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, who is also part of the Republican Party, as reported by The Associated Press.
In part because of Trump’s involvement, the race will be watched as a possible proxy vote on his effectiveness as he moves steadily toward an apparent matchup against President Joe Biden.
McCarthy’s dramatic crash from the very first day, the seats occupied in the office — he is the only Speaker to have been voted out of the position in history — left a huge mess of fights within the Republican Party to replace him.
Republican Rift After McCarthy’s Ouster
The analysts see Republicans holding the seat; however, no real danger comes from their majority in the chamber. This district, physically cutting across the Central Valley farm belt with part belonging to Bakersfield and Fresno, is the most staunchly Republican seat in mostly Democratic California.
The Democrats only occupy 11 of the state’s 52 House seats, with Rep. McCarthy’s currently vacant.
The election is expected to leave a handful of voters perplexed and generate a sparse turnout because they have previously seen the same candidates in the March 5 primary for the duration of the 20th Congressional District seat, which starts in January. Fong and Boudreaux made it to the November election in the contest for that office.
The interim election is confined only to the rest of McCarthy’s term, which ends early next year. If that is the case, the two leading candidates are scheduled for a head-to-head battle on May 21.
As nine candidates are running, the chances that the position will be won by anyone in the first round will be slim. The Democrats on the ballot are Marisa Wood, a public-school teacher who also ran for the full term.
The voters might see Fong and Boudreaux on four different types of ballots from March to November.
Unique Campaign Strategies
Boudreaux’s campaign has been sending texts to voters to remind them that a separate election will be held on Tuesday as they got calls from people asking to help them figure it out. Likewise, Fong’s campaign is disclosing to voters the election after two weeks from the primary.
“This is an unusual process,” for Ryan Gardiner, who is the adviser of Fong. Under the situation, the campaign actually continued the role after the primary.
Fong was endorsed by Trump in February, saying he is “a true Republican.” Boudreaux’s supporters include Ric Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence under Trump’s administration, and Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove, who hails from Fong’s hometown of Bakersfield.
But Fong and Boudreaux, to some degree, reside in the same territory, and they are both conservative and Trump supporters.
But there is an insider-outsider aspect to the race: First, McCarthy’s political operation promotes the sheriff, whereas the latter is an independent candidate.
That is why they are quite different.
Fon is an ex-McCarthy ally who claims to have “steady, proven leadership.” He has been getting the most financial support. Boudreaux stresses his law-and-order background, which he thinks is needed to keep us safe, and he claims that this is his field, as reported by The Associated Press.
Focus on Border Security
The most pressing matter in this election is obviously the country’s border crisis.
Fong is found in Kern County, the most populous county in the district, while Boudreaux has already become the norm in Tulare and Kings counties. It is in Fresno County where the two virtually tied in the March 5 Primary returns, and race virtually could be decided in this county.