California 20th District holds special election for McCarthy seat
A pair of Republicans are duking it out in two contests: one to fill former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s seat and for a new congressional term beginning 2025.
California courts last week cleared Republican legislator Vince Fong to run in for his reelection in the state’s 32nd Assembly District and in the 20th U.S. Congressional District. Yes, you read that right: Fong will be running in two races to hold two different offices at once.
It is as bizarre and unprecedented as it sounds. So, how did we get here? We asked an expert on California law and government to help explain.
How did this happen?
Some of this is a result of bad timing.
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced his exit from Congress Dec. 6, 2023, leaving his 20th Congressional seat open leading into 2024. Fong, McCarthy’s chosen successor, filed to run to take his mentor’s seat, but by that time he had already filed to run for reelection for his state Assembly seat.
Mary-Beth Moylan, associate dean for academic affairs and experiential learning at McGeorge School of Law, said California does not allow candidates to take themselves out of a race after declaring, which left Fong in a bind. In accordance to this law, Secretary of State Shirley Weber said Fong couldn’t run for Congress instead.
“The Secretary of State said, you’re already running and you can’t get out of this one,” Moylan said. “You can’t run for two seats.”
Fong appealed the decision to the Superior Court, and the judge ruled the law Weber relied on was not applicable, giving Fong the green light. Weber then appealed, sending the case to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Weber argued Fong’s dual candidacy of running for two offices simultaneously violated state law and had the potential to confuse and disenfranchise voters. One of her complaints included the possibility of voters casting their ballots for Fong for state Assembly, only to have him win McCarthy’s old seat and head to Congress, potentially depriving voters of their choice. However, in its opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals largely addressed these concerns as hypotheticals, and again cleared Fong to run for Congress.
But the problems don’t end there.
Fong is the front-runner in both races. He placed first in the Super Tuesday primary for a full two-year term for the House seat and led Boudreaux in the March 19 special primary for the May 21 special election. In his Assembly district, he also won first place, as the lone candidate running uncontested.
It’s within reason that Fong will win both district, head to D.C., and force a second election process to fill what will be a vacant Assembly seat.
What are the implications?
Between time and money, this quagmire will cost voters both.
“Talk about voter fatigue — we’re already struggling to get voter turnout up and for people to come out [to vote], but when something like this happens, I do think it’s a problem,” Moylan said. The counties in question recently ranked among the lowest ends of voter turnout, and that’s just in regular election seasons. The added time, complication and effort to keep track of Fong’s multiple races doesn’t bode well for turning out the vote.
When it comes to money, Moylan says local elections boards will have to shoulder most of the cost, which she says is “not insignificant.”
“So, not exactly the most civically minded thing to do if you’re Mr. Fong, looking at it that way,” she said, referring to the added costs. “This is an elected representative who is causing his own constituents to potentially have an additional election.”
In a statement released Tuesday following the appellate court ruling, Fong praised the decision as a win for voters.
“I am grateful that our judicial system has upheld the integrity of our elections and sided with Central Valley voters and our communities,” he said. “The foundation of our democratic process—voter choice—was preserved.”
What is next?
The…
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