Fresno, Tulare counties cast votes to replace Nunes. How does early turnout look?
Voters in Fresno and Tulare counties went to polling stations Tuesday to select a replacement for Rep. Devin Nunes in the 22nd Congressional District.
The district spans parts of both counties. By Monday, about 40,000 Fresno County voters cast early ballots, according to the Fresno County Clerk’s office. By 5 p.m. Tuesday, 1,000 had voted in person. In Tulare County, more than 2,000 had voted in person, out of a total vote tally of 23,726, including early ballots.
Polls close at 8 p.m.
Four Republicans and two Democrats are on the ballot. The two who receive the most votes will face a runoff vote in the June 7 statewide primary to determine who serves the remainder of Nunes’ term, which will end in early January.
The position was thrown open after Nunes resigned his seat in December to head a social media outlet that former President Donald Trump launched.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES
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 state Assemblymember and Tulare County supervisor who was appointed by 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.
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES
On the Democratic side, 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.”
CALIFORNIA’S PRIMARY SYSTEM
According to Ballotpedia, California is one of three states to use a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballet, regardless of political affiliation. The two candidates receiving the most votes advance to the general election.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 6:38 PM.