Sacramento— County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux is running in a May California election to fill the remaining term of deposed former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which ends in January.
Boudreaux faces state legislator Vince Fong, backed by former President Donald Trump and McCarthy, in the May 21 20th District special election. Sheriff Boudreaux serves Tulare County in the Central Valley. He has touted his decades of law-and-order credentials and promised to fortify the border.
Republicans should easily win the seat, and their fragile chamber control was not at danger. The most Republican House seat in Democratic California is in the Central Valley farm belt, including Bakersfield and Fresno.
Trump's involvement makes the election a possible proxy vote on his power as he prepares to face President Joe Biden in November. McCarthy's spectacular fall in the House—he is the first speaker ever to be voted out—left a complicated contest to succeed him that has involved a lawsuit and GOP rivalries.
With McCarthy's seat vacated, Republicans hold 11 of the state's 52 House seats. Because several of the same names were on the March 5 primary ballot for the entire 20th Congressional District term that begins in January, many voters were likely to be confused and turn out low. In that race, Boudreaux and Fong progressed to November.
Trump backed Fong in February as “a true Republican.” Former Trump acting director of national intelligence Ric Grenell and Bakersfield Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove, Fong's hometown, endorse Boudreaux. Fong and Boudreaux are Trump-supporting conservatives with similar policies. Fong is McCarthy's pick and a product of his political organization, whereas the sheriff is not.
McCarthy-exiting legislator Fong promises “trusted, tested leadership.” He ruled fundraisers. The son of a detective, Boudreaux touts his decades of law-and-order experience and “the know-how to keep us safe.”
Boudreaux is well-known in Tulare and Kings counties, whereas Fong is in Kern County, the district's most populated. According to incomplete findings, Fresno County, where the two were narrowly separated in the March 5 primary, might decide the race.
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