Voters go to polls to select a replacement for Devin Nunes. Here’s how many have voted so far
Voters in Fresno and Tulare counties go to the polls Tuesday to determine who will replace Devin Nunes in Congress for the remainder of his term in the 22nd Congressional District.
Six candidates, four Republicans and two Democrats, are running for Nunes’ seat, thrown open following Nunes’ surprise announcement that he was quitting Congress to head a conservative social media outlet that former President Donald Trump planned to launch.
A runoff will be part of the June 7 statewide primary election. The winner will serve until January, when new Congress members are sworn in.
EARLY VOTING IN FRESNO AND TULARE COUNTIES
By Monday, more than 40,000 in Fresno County, out of a possible 288,752 voters had returned early ballots in the race, according to the Fresno County Clerk’s office. In Tulare County, more than 18,000 also cast early ballots out of a possible 157,981.
CANDIDATES SEEKING THE POSITION
On the Democratic side in Tuesday’s vote, Eric Garcia describes himself as a father and therapist, and Lourin Hubbard is a water resources manager.
Garcia said he is a second-generation military veteran.
Hubbard said he is “passionate about building a diverse coalition of working and middle-class families behind a bold platform for progressive change.”
Three of the four Republican candidates, Connie Conway, Elizabeth Heng, and Matt Stoll, list themselves as small business owners. Michael Maher is an aviation business owner.
Conway is a former Tulare County Supervisor who was appointed by former President Donald Trump as the California Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency.
Heng is the daughter of immigrants from Southeast Asia who attended Stanford University and received a master’s in Business Administration from Yale University. She previously ran for Congress against Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.
Maher grew up in Tulare and is a Navy veteran who served on a submarine before he was injured and forced to retire from the service, then becoming a special agent for the FBI. He worked in the construction industry before becoming an executive in aviation.
Stoll is a former Navy F-18 fighter pilot.
HOW TO VOTE
Voters can find their polling place through the California Secretary of State’s office here.
Fresno County has more than a dozen ballot drop box locations. They are open 24 hours a day.
In Tulare County, there is a 24-hour drop box located outside of the Visalia Government Plaza, at 5961 S. Mooney Blvd.
HOW THE SPECIAL ELECTION WORKS
According to Ballotpedia, California is one of three states to use a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of political affiliation. The two candidates receiving the most votes advance to the general election, even if one received more than 50 percent of the vote.
