And on to November

Published online on Wednesday, Jun. 04, 2008

In five months, Valley voters will head to the polls for the year's third statewide election, making this the busiest election year since 1940.

The presidential contest and a gay marriage initiative will gain most of the attention -- and drive turnout. But Tuesday's primary election set up some intriguing local match-ups.

Here's a look ahead to some of the races:

Assembly District 34

Tulare County Supervisor Connie Conway rode strong home-county support for a likely victory in the race for the Republican nomination in the 34th Assembly District.

With more than 70% of the votes counted, Conway, of Tulare, was beating three other candidates, including the incumbent's wife and a well-financed candidate from San Bernardino County en route to the general election in November.

The winner will be a strong favorite against the lone Democratic contender, Desmond Farrelly of Tulare.

Conway had 45% of the Republican votes in the sprawling district. Her lead was especially commanding in Tulare County, the most populous area of the district that also includes all or part of Inyo, San Bernardino and Kern counties.

"There are so many people who helped me in this; everyone did their part," she said as supporters in her Visalia headquarters cheered the results.

Conway overcame the name recognition of Becky Maze, wife of Assembly Member Bill Maze, who is termed out of the seat at the end of this year, and an aggressive direct-mail campaign by Bob Smith, a retired sheriff's deputy from the Barstow area, who rolled up 32% of the votes.

Other Assembly races

There were no other competitive Assembly primary races in the four other Valley districts.

In November, the hottest race will be for the 30th District seat in the South Valley, now held by termed-out Democrat Nicole Parra. Republican Danny Gilmore, a retired California Highway Patrol officer from Hanford, takes on Democrat Fran Florez, a Shafter City Council member and mother of state Sen. Dean Florez.

In the other races, incumbents will be strong favorites. Democrat Juan Arambula of Fresno looks to capture a third and final term against Republican small-business owner Clifford Archer in the Democratic-leaning 31st District.

In the conservative 29th District, Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines of Clovis is also seeking a third term against Humberto Avila, a Democrat and community organizer in Clovis.

Farther north in the 25th District, Republican incumbent Tom Berryhill of Modesto will square off against Democrat Taylor White of Riverbank, president of the Associated Students of Modesto Junior College.

Congress

Incumbent congressmen Dennis Cardoza of Atwater, George Radanovich of Mariposa, Jim Costa of Fresno and Devin Nunes of Visalia didn't have to lift a finger this primary election season to take their first step toward winning another term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

That's because all four central San Joaquin Valley congressmen ran unopposed in Tuesday's election.

And for Cardoza, a Democrat seeking his fourth term in a district that runs from Fresno County north to Stockton, and Radanovich, a Republican seeking his eighth term in a district that runs from Fresno, through the Sierra foothills north to Tuolumne County, the free ride will continue right through the November general election. Both are unchallenged then as well.

Costa and Nunes, however, will have challengers in the fall.

Nunes will face Larry Johnson, a Clovis Democrat, and Costa will run against Jim Lopez, a Bakersfield Republican. Like the incumbents, Johnson and Lopez also ran unopposed.