State of the Union guest list included Madera Republican. Why did a Democrat invite him?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Central Valley Rep. Adam Gray invited a local Republican to the State of the Union.
- Jordan Wamhoff, a Republican Madera County supervisor, “honored” to be chosen.
- Gray highlights shared Valley priorities— safety, jobs and quality of life.
In defiance of President Donald Trump, some congressional Democrats decided to skip last week’s State of the Union address in the U.S. Capitol. Others invited victims of Jeffrey Epstein and people impacted by Trump’s immigration policies.
Another showed up with a sign to hold up that read, “Black people aren’t apes,” in response to a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes posted to Truth Social by Trump’s account.
But democratic Central Valley Congressman Adam Gray showed up to Washington D.C. with Madera County Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff, a Republican.
When asked why he chose a Republican and Wamhoff specifically, Gray said: “Party labels don’t change the job.”
“Supervisor Wamhoff and I both answer to the same families across the Valley,” Gray said in a statement to The Fresno Bee. “They expect safe communities, economic opportunity, and a better quality of life. We need leaders who will work together to deliver it.”
Wamhoff, represents the southern part of Madera County east of the city of Madera, including the Ranchos and Riverstone communities. He is also a police officer in the city of Fresno. Gray represents California’s 13th Congressional District, a huge part of the Valley floor in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties.
Wamhoff did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment. But he wrote in a Facebook post that “working hard for Madera County transcends political parties.”
“In a partisan world, it’s an honor that my Democrat Congressman Adam Gray, chose me, a Republican, to be his guest tonight,” Wamhoff wrote.
This year’s State of the Union was especially controversial as some Democrats who boycotted the speech protested outside the Capitol building instead. Rep. Al Green, a Democrat from Texas, was ejected after raising the “Black people aren’t apes” sign as Republicans cheered the removal.
Prominent conservative invitees included Erika Kirk, widow to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and Nick Shirley, a Youtuber who went viral for accusing a Somali-run daycare center in Minneapolis of fraud — a claim The New York Times says has not been verified.
But showing up with Wamhoff is not uncharacteristic for Gray, who represents a “purple” battleground district that he won in November 2024 by just 187 votes. He is known as a centrist who sometimes defies Democratic Party norms and, like several of his congressional colleagues in the Central Valley, often looks for bipartisanship when introducing legislation.
He joined Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colorado, in September to introduce a bill to pay for increased law enforcement efforts against fentanyl trafficking. In November, he was one of only six Democrats in the House who voted to end the federal government shutdown that had stretched to 43 days — the longest in history.
“I was sent to Congress to produce results, and that means commonsense leadership focused on the everyday challenges people face,” Gray said in his Thursday statement to The Bee.
