A California Assemblyman can run for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) seat, a judge has ruled.
Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang paves the way for Vince Fong to campaign to succeed his former boss, who is leaving the House of Representatives on Dec. 31.
Specifically, this means Mr. Chang can run for Mr. McCarthy’s seat, which represents California’s solidly red 20th congressional district, and for re-election to his seat in the California State Assembly.
A statute argued by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber “is inapplicable to Fong and cannot be used as a reason to preclude him” from running for Congress, though Ms. Chang acknowledged this “may result in voter confusion and the disenfranchisement of voters if Fong is ultimately elected for both offices but does not retain one.
“Moreover, it somewhat defies common sense to find the law permits a candidate to run for two offices during the same election.”
Mr. Fong applauded the ruling.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the voters of the 20th Congressional District, who will now have the opportunity to select the candidate of their choice in the March 5th election,” he said in a statement. “I am grateful that Judge Chang upheld the integrity of our elections and sided with Central Valley voters against an overreaching Sacramento politician.”
Mr. Fong filed to run for his State Assembly seat, assuming a formidable candidate, state Sen. Shannon Grove, would run to succeed Mr. McCarthy, who is retiring after a tumultuous year that saw his speakership, which he won after 15 balloting rounds, end after nine months. Ms. Grove passed on a run, prompting Mr. Fong to run but not before the deadline to drop his re-election campaign to his State Assembly.
Mr. Fong took legal action after Ms. Weber announced he would not be on the ballot in the special election to finish Mr. McCarthy’s term, which ends on Jan. 3, 2025. Per state law, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will have to schedule the special election by Jan. 14. It will be in April or May, as, in accordance with state law, the special election must be between 126 and 140 days after Dec. 31.
Mr. McCarthy has endorsed Mr. Fong.
Mr. McCarthy has served in Congress since 2007 and previously was in the California State Assembly, where he served as minority leader.
In addition to Mr. Fong, other candidates in the special election include Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, businessman David Giglio, casino owner Kyle Kirkland, and businessman Matt Stoll, who has twice run unsuccessfully for Congress.
