Candidate to replace Devin Nunes drops out of race, making GOP's Conway clear frontrunner

Veteran Tulare County politician Connie Conway's path to fill out the term of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) got clearer on Monday when another high-profile candidate dropped out of the special election.

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig (R), a former Clovs mayor and council member who picked up the endorsements of several prominent Tulare County politicians, announced he would concentrate on a run for the newly drawn Congressional District 5 instead of the short seat. CD5 covers the California Gold Country and the San Joaquin Valley, including parts of Fresno County.

Last month, Phil Arballo (D-Fresno), who lost to Nunes in 2020, also announced he was dropping out of the special election to concentrate on running for the newly drawn 13th Congressional district, which covers parts of Fresno and Merced counties.

Filling Nunes' seat:

• Devin Nunes officially quits Congress. Who may replace him?

• Election dates set to replace Devin Nunes in Congress. Find out who is running

• Nunes will say goodbye to Washington, hello to Trump media company

Conway, who lives in Tulare and has close ties with Nunes over the years, announced she would run for the heavily Republican-leaning short seat in mid-Janurary.

Previously announced candidates to finish out Nunes' term include:

• Elizabeth Heng, a Republican tech CEO who lost to Jim Costa (D-Fresno) in 2018.

• Eric Garcia (No party preference), a disabled U.S. Marine who previously ran in the 2020 primary.

• Lourin Hubbard (D), environmental justice and racial equity activist from Bakersfield.

Conway doesn't intend to run in November for any of the redrawn Congressional seats, she said. If elected for the short seat, she will concentrate on constituent services such as helping people with passport and social security problems, veterans issues, and appointing qualified students to the U.S. military academies.

"People in Tulare County deserve someone who knows and cares about the district to fill out Rep. Nunes' seat," Conway said.

Conway served on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors from 2000 to 2008. She represented Tulare County in the California State Assembly from 2008 to 2014. In 2010, Conway was elected as the Assembly Republican Leader.

In the 2018 election, Conway dropped out of California’s 16th Senate District seat and made an unsuccessful run for the California Board of Equalization.

In 2019, Trump appointed Conway as California's state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency. The job, according to a USDA press release, was responsible for implementing Trump Administration policies and running the day-to-day activities of the state FSA office. The job was a politically appointed post, so her stay was short-lived after Trump lost his 2020 re-election bid.

During her time in previous elected offices, she has traveled to Washington D.C. on multiple occasions and has professional contacts with many members of Congress, she said.

"And I am a fast learner, so I don't think I will have much of a learning curve," Conway said.

The first round of the special election will be held on April 5. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in April, a runoff election will be held on June 7, the same day as the statewide primary for the November election.

Candidates to replace Nunes in Congress have until Feb. 10 to file paperwork with the California Secretary of State to appear on the ballot. Nunes' term was scheduled to end in January 2023.

For the special election, registered voters will get ballots by mail, which can be returned by mail, at a voting center, or in a ballot box. Qualified unregistered voters can sign up to vote online up to 15 days before the election or in person up to Election Day. For voting information, go to tularecoelections.org/elections/ or call (559) 624-7300.

Ballots are scheduled to be delivered to voters on March 7.

James Ward covers entertainment, news, sports, and lifestyles for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow him on Twitter. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Conway's path to replace Nunes clearer as candidate drops out of race