Los Angeles (AP) — In a special election Tuesday, a California lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump and a county sheriff who says he will fight for stronger border security are running against each other to see who will finish the rest of the term of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which ends in January.
Vince Fong, a Republican member of the State Assembly, and Mike Boudreaux, the sheriff of Tulare County, are both running for the open spot in the 20th Congressional District in the Central Valley farm belt of California. The district includes parts of Bakersfield and Fresno. It is the most conservative House seat in California, which is mostly Democratic.
Because Trump is running, the race will likely be seen as a vote on his political power as he prepares for his almost certain run against Vice President Joe Biden in November.
In February, Trump backed Fong and called him “a true Republican.” Richard Grenell, who used to be acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, and Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, which is where Fong lives, are both on Boudreaux’s side.
Only 11 of the 52 U.S. House spots in the state are held by Republicans. The GOP will keep the area that McCarthy used to represent, which will give them 12 seats in the state legislature and give them a small edge in Congress by one vote.
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The special election is only for the time left on McCarthy’s term. In November, Fong and Boudreaux will run again for a full, two-year term in the district. The winner of the special election will have an edge because they have already been in office for a while.
A light showing is likely. Last month, people could start voting by mail for the special election. Fong and Boudreaux have already been on two House ballots this year: the general primary on March 5 for the full House term and the special election on March 19 to fill out McCarthy’s term. This could make some voters confused.
A lot of the policies that the two conservative Republicans and Trump supporters back are the same. Boudreaux has been talking about his decades of experience in law enforcement and his plans to make the country’s weak border stronger. Fong also says he will “end the chaos” at the border with Mexico and put the farm belt’s needs for water and energy first.
Fong, who used to work for McCarthy and has the former speaker’s support, went into the race with more than just Trump and McCarthy’s support. In the March primary election, Fong got 42% of the vote, Boudreaux got almost 26%, and the rest went to other candidates. According to federal records up to the end of March, Fong has collected more campaign money than the sheriff by about three to one. He is from Kern County, which has the most people in the district.
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McCarthy was the only speaker in history to be voted out of office by the House. His shocking fall caused a messy race to replace him, which showed divisions within his party. He has worked behind the scenes to support Fong’s campaign. For example, a McCarthy-linked political action group put more than $700,000 into the 20th District race to help Fong’s chances. McCarthy quit last year after being kicked out of the House.