California primary updates: Tulare County voters decide Devin Nunes’ replacement, runoff spots

Voters in Tulare County will be asked on Tuesday to weigh in on races at the federal, state, and county levels. Follow here throughout the day for the latest election results, reactions and analysis of the California primary elections in Tulare County.

Compared to the 2021 recall effort against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom — which garnered more than 155,000 votes countywide — turnout is lacking, Registrar of Voters Michelle Baldwin said.

"We've had a slow turnout at first," Baldwin said, noting that the county had only tallied about a thousand votes across its 42 polling centers as of 11 a.m. Tuesday. She attributed the lagging performance to an abundance of candidates in the primary, especially for the crowded governor's race. "We've had a lot of people saying they don't know who to vote for because there's so many (candidates) to choose from."

With more than 50 candidates on the ballot, several voters that the Times-Delta interviewed on Tuesday expressed confusion and ambivalence about what they said was a crowded field of candidates.

"There are so many candidates on the ballot, I had no idea who any of them were; I had to rely on what was printed (in the voter guide), which I don't love to do," said Marie Neese of Strathmore.

While races for federal, statewide, and legislative seats are primaries, with the top two finishers advancing to the state’s general election Nov. 8, county-level races could be decided if one candidate receives a majority of the vote. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to a November runoff election.

Voters will weigh in on one countywide race: Incumbent Tulare County District 4 Supervisor Eddie Valero will face three challengers (Scott Harness, Kelly Culver, Melvin K. Gong). If no candidate gets 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will move on to the November general election,

Incumbents in other countywide offices — including Tulare County sheriff and district attorney — are uncontested

Tulare County election results: Polls close at 8; follow for latest updates

The June 7 election includes primaries for federal, statewide and legislative races, with the top two finishers advancing to the state’s general election on Nov. 8.

This year, Tulare County voters will cast votes in new California State Assembly Districts, State Senate Districts, and U.S. House of Representatives Districts after boundaries were redrawn courtesy of the 2020 census.

New voting boundaries: Redrawn political maps may split Visalia, Tulare. That could mean less government representation

The new districts apply in all races — with one exception: California’s 22nd Congressional district seat that was vacated by Devin Nunes earlier this year. The special primary election on April 5 began the process to fill this seat. Connie Conway and Lourin Hubbard won places on the June 7 ballot in the pre-redistricted District 22. The winner will serve that District until the end of that term, Jan. 3, 2023.

U.S. Congress 

20th District

Geography: The southern half of Visalia, the northern tip of Tulare, and almost all of eastern Tulare County, including Three Rivers and Springville. The district will also swing south into parts of Kern County, east into Kings County, and north into Fresno County, including Clovis.

Candidates: Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) represents much of the district now and is the clear frontrunner. Other candidates include: Marisa Wood, James Macauley, James Davis and Ben Dewell

21st District

Geography: Northern half of Visalia and Tulare County in the south and stretch north into Fresno County, including a large portion of Fresno.

Candidates: Current 16th district Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) is the consensus front runner. Other candidates include Eric Garcia, Michael Maher, and Matt Stoll

22nd District

Geography:  It will take in the southern half of Tulare, most of southern Tulare County, and parts of Kings County, including the city of Hanford, and Kern County, including the cities of Delano and McFarland.

Candidates: Current 21st district Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) is facing opposition from a pro-Trump candidate and several Democrats. His opponents include Rudy Salas, Chris Mathys and Adam Medeiros

State Senate 

16th District

Geography: City of Dinuba, a small part of Visalia and most of Tulare, and large parts of southern Tulare County and Kern County, including Bakersfield. Redistricting changed the borders significantly, but much of the new district includes what is currently Senate District 14.

Candidates: Probably the most interesting race of the night. Current State Senator Melissa Hurtado will face off against well-connected fellow Democrat and former State Assemblywoman Nicole Parra in this Democrat-leaning district. Other candidates include Gregory Tatum, Bryan Osorio, and David Shepard.

12th District

Geography: Most of Visalia and the northern tip of Tulare. Also includes a large swath of eastern Tulare County, including Three Rivers and large parts of Kern County as far south as Edwards Air Force Base. Before the redistricting that goes into effect this year, much of this was in the 16th District.

Candidates: State Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) is the clear front-runner for the seat. She faces Democrat Susanne Gundy of Visalia.

14th District

Geography: Small slivers of northern Tulare and southern Merced counties and large sections of Fresno and Madera counties. The newly redistricted 14th District contains much of the area from the current Senate District 12.

Candidates: Incumbent State Senator Anna Caballero (D) is the clear frontrunner. She will face Paulina Miranda or Amnon Shor.

State Assembly 

32nd District

Geography: Most of Visalia and almost all eastern Tulare County, including Three Rivers and a large part of Kern County. As with other state districts, this one has changed significantly with the new maps that take effect this year.

Candidates: Current State Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) is running unopposed.

33rd District

Geography: Most of Tulare, a small part of Visalia and southern Tulare County, and most of Kings County, including the cities of Hanford and Lemoore.

Candidates: Current 26th District Assemblymen Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) is the clear frontrunner. Other candidates include Democrats Ruben Macareno and former Tulare Mayor Jose Sigala.

Macareno, a Farmersville councilman, is also a representative of the Tulare County Association of Governments, Council of Cities, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and the county’s Homelessness Task Force.

Sigala was first elected to the Tulare City Council in 2016 and was reelected in 2020 to serve another four years after losing to Mathis in 2018. Sigala was appointed Mayor in 2018 and served a two-year term.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: California primary live updates: Tulare County 2022 election results