Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux joins race to succeed Kevin McCarthy. Who else is in?
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, a popular Republican in California’s 20th Congressional District, has joined the list of potential successors to Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
In a statement, Boudreaux said he looked forward to continuing McCarthy’s legacy “as a fighter for our region.”
“I am honored by the volume of calls from neighbors, friends, and family who have asked me to run and serve,” Boudreaux said. “Service — no matter where — is a calling.”
Boudreaux has been sheriff since 2013 and is the current president of the California State Sheriff’s Association. He first joined the county sheriff’s office as a cadet at age 19 and has been on the force for 37 years, following in the footsteps of his father, a detective.
“In my time as Sheriff,” Boudreaux said, “I have led the charge to make Tulare County one of the safest in California — even when it meant going toe-to-toe against decriminalization efforts crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sacramento.”
Who else is running to succeed Kevin McCarthy?
The filing deadline for California’s solidly-Republican 20th district closed Wednesday. Not of all the contenders listed on the counties’ papers are included in this article. And the candidate lists are unofficial: The secretary of state has to certify candidates by a Dec. 28 deadline.
Friday evening, the secretary of state said Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, could not legally run for Congress because he had already qualified to run in his Assembly district before last week’s deadline.
By Monday, he changed his mind and was sworn in as a congressional candidate in Kern County. He’s not allowed to withdraw from the Assembly race and can’t be on the ballot for two different races, according to the California secretary of state.
Fong intends to sue over the decision: “We fully intend to litigate this decision and will be filing a challenge in Superior Court imminently,” a campaign statement read.
Fong had earned McCarthy’s coveted endorsement on Tuesday. Before the Assembly, Fong served as McCarthy’s district director for almost a decade.
David Giglio, another GOP contender, on Wednesday said he’d file a legal challenge against election officials if they let Fong run for Congress under the circumstances. Giglio is an “America First” business owner who ran in California’s 13th Congressional District in the 2022 primary.
Several Republicans in addition to Giglio are running: Matt Stoll, a fighter pilot who in 2022 ran in the special election to fill former Rep. Devin Nunes’ seat and in the primary against Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno; Kyle Kirkland, the owner of Fresno’s Club One Casino; and Kelly Kulikoff, the mayor of California City. Stan Ellis, a Bakersfield tech entrepreneur who in 2006 ran as a Republican for the Assembly seat McCarthy was leaving, also filed.
Democrats Marisa Wood, a Bakersfield school teacher who lost a challenge to McCarthy in 2022, and Andy Morales of Bakersfield, a recent college graduate working in private security, are in. John Burrows, a Fresno public affairs entrepreneur, dropped out Wednesday and endorsed Wood.
Ben Dewell, an Independent who ran in 2022 as a Democrat in California’s 20th, is running.
Depending on when McCarthy retires, Newsom must or may call for a special election to fill the remainder of his term.
McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said he would leave Congress by year’s end after being ousted as House speaker in October by a band of eight GOP hardliners and all Democrats.
This story was originally published December 14, 2023 at 8:40 AM.
