WASHINGTON — A short-term congressional role is on the line as California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week called a special election for the vacancy left by former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes.
The position will last about six months. The earliest a candidate could secure Nunes’ old spot would be immediately following the election on June 7. The role only exists until the next session of the U.S. House of Representatives starts in January 2023.
Candidates have thrown their hat in the ring since Nunes announced that he would leave Congress to lead former President Donald Trump’s social media venture.
The winner would represent the current 22nd Congressional District rather than the one drawn in new legislative maps through California’s once-a-decade redistricting process.
What would have been the geographically closest district to Nunes’ seat turned into one that leans Democratic. Rep. Jim Costa, a Fresno Democrat, announced he will run there, as it contains his hometown.
Some of the candidates for the special election are weighing their options for a run in different congressional district following the special election. The primary election for those races is also June 7, meaning candidates vying to finish Nunes’ two-year term also could appear on the ballot in a contest for another district.
Who is running in the special election?
—Phil Arballo, a Democrat and small business owner who lost to Nunes in 2020. He said that he would run in the special election after Nunes announced his resignation.
—Elizabeth Heng, a Republican and technology chief executive officer who ran and lost to Costa in 2018. A former contender for one of California’s U.S. Senate seats, Heng switched her candidacy after Nunes announced his resignation.
—Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, a Republican and former mayor, announced that he would run in the special election following Nunes’ announcement.
—Lourin Hubbard, a Democrat from Bakersfield who is an operations manager at the California Department of Water Resources, said he would run in the special election after Nunes’ resignation announcement.
—Eric Garcia, a Democrat and former U.S. Marine who ran in the 2020 primary for Nunes’ seat, said that he would run before Nunes announced his resignation and has continued to campaign for the 22nd District.
Newsom had two weeks to call for a special election under California law starting after Nunes officially resigned from Congress on Jan. 3. The primary for the election will be on April 5, according to the governor’s office.
Once a candidate is declared victorious in June, they get sworn in without hesitation. The seat remains vacant in the meanwhile.
Arballo, who is known for challenging Nunes two years ago, contrasted himself with the district’s former congressman.
“I don’t know what I’m going to be able to do in those six months, but I’m going to be a lot more present than our previous representative,” Arballo said in an interview this week, promising a open forums with constituents. He is prioritizing the “war on COVID.”
Hubbard, who was registered as a Republican at one point and hopes to reach across the aisle, stressed the importance of health care, paid family leave and the child tax credit.
“Whether that is getting the legislative push for Build Back Better through Congress, or being more pragmatic and breaking that bill down and saying, ‘OK, what can we get through?’” he said.
Magsig said he wants to engage with federal agencies on behalf of the San Joaquin Valley district.
“I’d really like to find ways to change laws that would have the Forest Service partner with cities and counties to thin forests and bring them back into a more healthy state,” said Magsig.
And Heng said she’d use the position to advocate for the Valley’s water supply.
“On water shortage and infrastructure, looking at desalinization as a way to provide water to the Valley, and to be a voice on immigration reform bills,” Heng said. “Those two key things, I think I can be a leading voice on and I would be really excited about the opportunity to be.”
Aside from Costa announcing plans to run for a new Fresno-centered congressional district, other incumbents are making plans to run for newly shaped San Joaquin Valley seats.
Rep. Tom McClintock, an Elk Grove Republican, will run in the district that experts thought Nunes would run in: the 5th District, which captures a sliver of Nunes’ old one.
The new 22nd District, which neighbors that district and holds the hometown of Rep. David Valadao, a Hanford Republican, is considered a toss-up for either a Democrat or Republican by major election trackers. Valadao has not said whether he will seek election in the district since redistricting. But several challengers have, including Assemblyman Rudy Salas and Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio, both Democrats, and Chris Mathys, a Republican businessman.
The district candidates are running in for the special election is historically Republican, though Nunes faced tougher elections there since Trump took office and the former congressman aligned himself with the former president.
Nunes defeated Arballo by less than nine percentage points in 2020. Democrat Andrew Janz, a former prosecutor, came within six percentage points in 2018. Nunes won the prior three elections by a margin of more than 23% of the votes.
Nunes had represented the region in Congress since 2003.
Arballo, Magsig, Heng and Hubbard all said that they were likely to run for a full-term in the Central Valley.
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