California voters are set to choose a replacement for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a special election on Tuesday that will help secure a slim GOP majority in the House of Representatives.
A race in the Bakersfield-area 20th District between two Republicans, state Assemblyman Vince Fong and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, will determine who will serve the remainder of McCarty’s term. He resigned in December, two months after being removed from the post of speaker.
Unlike most states, California uses a first-two primary system in which all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same primary ballot. While a candidate can win the primary outright if they win a majority of the vote, neither Fong nor Boudreaux reached that mark in March.
Fong is the top vote-getter in this primary and is considered the favorite, backed by both McCarthy and former President Donald Trump.
Washington Republicans will win no matter what, because filling the seat gives them a little more flexibility in a tightly divided Congress. Counting a GOP victory on Tuesday, Republicans would have 218 congressional seats and Democrats 213, four vacancies. That gives House Speaker Mike Johnson a little more cushion — in recent months, some conservative members of the party have threatened to overturn key rules and pieces of legislation.
Voters will head to the polls Tuesday in four more states for primaries, setting up meetings in key battleground states and settling party infighting.
Trump’s support is also expected in the Open House race in Georgia’s 3rd District, where the former White House political director is running. In District 2, Chuck Hand, who pleaded guilty to a crime related to him Conduct during the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021The Democrat is among the GOP candidates seeking to challenge Republican Sanford Bishop.
Elsewhere in Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis faces her own primary as she oversees Trump’s state election meddling case. And conservative state Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson faces a challenge from former Democratic Rep. John Barrow, whose campaign has focused on abortion rights.
Republican members of Congress in Kentucky and Idaho are looking to fend off their primary challengers and fend off some fringe attacks.
Oregon’s primaries will determine races in three competitive districts, with national Democrats hoping to push their candidate to the finish line in the 5th District. Democrats are likely to pick a new member of Congress in Oregon’s deep-blue 3rd District, where former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, sister of Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, is the primary candidate.
In Kentucky, polls close at 6 and 7 p.m. The state is divided into two time zones; 7:00 PM ET at Georgia; 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET in Idaho; and 11:00 PM ET in California. Oregon conducts elections entirely by mail, and ballots must be returned or mailed in by 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday.