To determine who would fill the term that remains of former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which ends in January, Republican state lawmaker Vince Fong qualified for a May 21 special election in California.
In the conservative district that the speaker vacated last year, many candidates sought to replace the position, including Fong, a former McCarthy assistant who received his endorsement and the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, and Mike Boudreaux, another Republican from Tulare County.
This is the most Republican-leaning congressional district in California, a predominantly Democratic state. It runs through the heart of the Central Valley agricultural area and includes portions of Bakersfield and Fresno. With McCarthy’s seat empty, Republicans in the state have only 11 out of the 52 House seats.
As Trump prepares for his almost inevitable November showdown with President Joe Biden, his presence in the contest has cast it as a potential proxy referendum on the previous president’s influence.
In February, Trump proclaimed Fong a genuine Republican and backed him. Republican Bakersfield state senator Shannon Grove and former Trump administration interim head of National Intelligence Ric Grenel are among Boudreaux’s backers.
As conservatives who back Trump, Fong and Boudreaux share a lot of ground on policy. The sheriff is not a product of McCarthy’s political organization, but Fong is.
A lawmaker who emerged from McCarthy’s inner circle, Fong claims to provide reliable, experienced leadership. He was unrivaled in terms of money raised. Boudreaux boasts about his extensive law enforcement career and claims he has what it takes to keep us secure. The border situation was the main topic of the race.
Kern County, the most populated portion of the district, is Fong’s area, while Kings and Tulare counties are associated with Boudreaux. Unfinished results show that the election might be determined in Fresno County, where each candidate was quite close in the primary on March 5th.
