Vince Fong, endorsed by Kevin McCarthy, can run for Congress in 2024, California judge rules
Vince Fong, the Bakersfield Assemblyman who Rep. Kevin McCarthy endorsed to succeed him, can run for Congress, a judge said Thursday.
Previously, California’s secretary of state had said that Fong, R-Bakersfield, could not run for Congress because he had already qualified to run for the Assembly. Fong, 44, sued Secretary of State Shirley Weber in Sacramento Superior Court, saying that the secretary of state’s role is to “receive and file” nomination documents, not to decide who is eligible to run.
His lawyers argued in a hearing Thursday that state law does not prevent Fong from running for both seats.
Judge Shelleyanne Chang granted Fong’s request to run for Congress, reversing Weber’s decision.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the voters of the 20th Congressional District, who will now have the opportunity to select the candidate of their choice in the March 5th election,” Fong said in a statement. “I am grateful that Judge Chang upheld the integrity of our elections and sided with Central Valley voters against an overreaching Sacramento politician.”
Fong had filed to run for re-election to the Assembly before a December deadline and cannot withdraw his name from that race under California elections code. Candidates cannot appear on the ballot for different offices under California elections code, according to California’s secretary of state.
After McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, announced his intent to retire from Congress in December, Fong decided against pursuing his former boss’ seat. He qualified to run for re-election in his Assembly district before a Friday deadline.
Since McCarthy, the incumbent, was not seeking re-election, the deadline to file for California’s 20th Congressional District was extended. State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, declined to run for the seat earlier this month, and Fong announced he had changed his mind, filing the necessary paperwork to run for Congress in Bakersfield, Kern County’s seat.
Fong, who served as McCarthy’s district director for almost a decade, received his former boss’ endorsement and is considered the frontrunner.
There are a lot of candidates on the ballot to replace McCarthy, who is retiring Sunday. After he resigns, Gov. Gavin Newsom will also need to call for a special election to fill the remainder of this term. The primary for the special election could occur on the same day as the regularly scheduled one, a similar scenario when Alex Padilla was selected to replace Kamala Harris as California’s junior U.S. senator.
The 20th District includes parts of Kern, Kings, Tulare and Fresno counties. The victor in 2024 will be a Republican in the solidly-red district.
Republicans running include Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux; businessman Stan Ellis; businessman Kyle Kirkland; David Giglio, an “America First” business owner; Kelly Kulikoff, mayor of California City; and Matt Stoll, a fighter pilot turned business owner.
Some of these Republicans indicated that they would not actively campaign if Fong were allowed to run, according to a consultant familiar with discussions in Valley GOP circles.
Democrats include teacher Marisa Wood, who ran against McCarthy in 2022, and Andy Morales, a security guard. No party preference candidates are Ben Dewell, a meteorologist who ran as a Democrat there in 2022, and businessman T.J. Esposito.
