Two Republicans advance to a runoff to end Kevin McCarthy’s term
California most conservative congressional district just experienced his own version of the “Groundhog Day” time loop. After two elections, two weeks apart, the same two candidates have advanced to two subsequent elections.
Vince Fong and Mike Boudreaux, both Republicans, have qualified for a runoff election in the state’s 20th Congressional District to determine who will complete the term of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who resigned last year from Congress, not long after he was removed from leadership. after.
Both Mr. Fong and Mr. Boudreaux had already won a bid to run in the November general election for a full two-year term starting in January 2025. That was determined in an earlier primary on March 5, Super Tuesday.
But in a special election on Tuesday, Mr. Fong, a state lawmaker and former aide to Mr. McCarthy who was endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump, won more than 42 percent of the vote. Mr. Boudreaux, the longtime sheriff of Tulare County, finished with about 26 percent of the vote. If the top two winners — with neither candidate receiving 50 percent of the vote — they will compete again on May 21 to determine who completes Mr. McCarthy’s term.
Marisa Wood, a Democrat, finished third Tuesday, with about 23 percent of the vote. (Ms. Wood also finished third in the primary on March 5.) The race was not called until Friday by The Associated Press.
Voters in the district, which is in California’s Central Valley, now have two months before they are asked to cast their ballots again for Mr. Fong or Mr. Boudreaux. They will then have a break of more than five months before voting for one of the Republicans in November. Whoever wins the runoff in May will enter the November election with the incumbency advantage, even if this is a relatively new advantage.
Turnout in Tuesday’s special election was significantly lower than on March 5, with tens of thousands of voters opting to stay home, but that appeared to do little to change the outcome.