Could Devin Nunes lose to a Fresno Democrat? Why a new challenger says he can win
A newcomer to the District 22 race said Tuesday he’s stepping in to challenge for the seat in Fresno and other parts of the central San Joaquin Valley.
Lourin Hubbard said he’ll challenge Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, for the race in June 2022.
An operations manager in the Fresno office of the California Department of Water Resources, Hubbard said he was inspired to run after witnessing the siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6 and the evolution of the Republican party.
“It went from what I consider conservatism to outright tyranny,” the 32-year-old said.
Five people died as a result of the attack, including one Capitol police officer. The House impeached President Donald Trump over the riot a week later, with 10 Republicans voting to impeach alongside all House Democrats. Nunes voted against impeaching Trump.
Recalling his thoughts as he watched live coverage of the raid, Hubbard said he was in disbelief. “This cannot be the country I call home,” he said. “It was a real low point.”
Redistricting
The state of California lost a seat in the House this year. So it’s not clear what Nunes’ district will look like in 2022, as a bipartisan California commission still has to announce the new lines.
Hubbard said he’s going to charge ahead assuming the district will not change, adding a reshaping of the district would only likely be in his favor.
Nunes is in his 10th term in Congress. The last few challenges have been the closest races he’s faced, including the 2020 election against Phil Arballo.
A Fresno Democrat, Arballo announced in January he is challenging Nunes again. He pointed to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and potentially redrawn congressional districts that could work in his favor this time.
Nunes has raised significantly more than his challengers. Arballo raised about $5 million trying to unseat Nunes, a huge amount for a first-time candidate to the House.
But, Nunes spent four times that amount in his 2020 campaign and still had $10 million left in the bank that he can use in 2022. Arballo had only $30,000 left in his campaign account by the end of 2020.
Hubbard has never run a political campaign before.
Can he win?
Hubbard argues voters haven’t had a candidate they can get behind, saying they often voted against Nunes rather than for an opponent.
“I think we’re going to have a better get-out-the-vote effort,” he said. “We’re going to tell voters they have something to vote for, not just vote against.”
Hubbard said he was raised by a single, working-class mother in Bakersfield, where he graduated from Bakersfield High School. He got a degree in political science from Fresno State in 2013.
He plans a kickoff event this month at Fresno’s Full Circle Brewing on Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.
He said he wants the event to send a message, and that’s why he chose the day of remembrance and a Black-owned business. Hubbard’s event will be much different than the Freedom Fest Nunes held privately last month in Tulare, he said.
Trump was scheduled to speak at Nunes’ event, as were conservatives like KMJ radio host Ray Appleton and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
“When we talk about freedom, we mean freedom for everyone,” Hubbard said. “Freedom for people who look like me, for the LGBT community to love who they love, for women to do what they want with their bodies. We’re going to bring the promise of America to everybody.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
