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SACRAMENTO — U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s decision to retire is not a surprise after he became the first speaker of the House to be ousted by a vote of the chamber, and provides a rare opportunity for an ambitious California Republican to seek higher office.
In a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by about 2 to 1, only 12 of the 54 politicians representing the state in Washington are in the GOP — so those openings don’t surface often.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy will give up his Bakersfield seat after nearly two decades in Congress, leaving House Republicans with an even slimmer majority.
McCarthy, 58, has had the good fortune of representing one of the most conservative congressional districts in a state dominated by Democrats. Former President Trump won the district by a near 2-to-1 margin over President Biden in 2020.
So whoever voters pick might stick around for a while.
After serving as Republican leader in the California Assembly, McCarthy in 2006 became one of the few GOP newcomers to be elected to Congress in a year Democrats swept Republicans out of power. There might be some déjà vu in the future.
One Republican who could jump into the race to replace McCarthy also represents the Bakersfield area in the state Legislature: Sen. Shannon Grove, a former minority leader in the California Senate. And it’s possible the Democrats might win back control of the House in the 2024 election. Assemblymember Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), who served as district director for McCarthy before being elected to the Legislature, announced that he would not run for a congressional seat.
The vacancy also may tempt some former members of Congress who represented districts in the Central Valley. Devin Nunes, a Trump supporter who now serves as chief executive of his media company, still has $11 million socked away in a congressional campaign account, according to the latest report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Why do a soul-crushing job with a 3,000-mile commute when you could do something else? Californians who’ve left Congress say they don’t miss it at all.
Bakersfield is the city with the most voters in McCarthy’s 20th Congressional District, which includes portions of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties in the San Joaquin Valley. Along with the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada and a sliver of the Mojave Desert, the district swallows up a major portion of California oil country and some of the most productive — and lucrative — farmland in the nation.
So who will represent this vast district?
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Possible candidates
Sen. Shannon Grove, 58, Republican
State Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) is a U.S. Army veteran and served six years in the Assembly before her election to the state Senate in 2018.
(Associated Press)
Grove, who once described herself as a “gun-carrying, tongue-talking, spirit-filled believer,” served as leader of the California Senate Republicans for two years.
The Bakersfield Republican is a U.S. Army veteran and served six years in the Assembly before her election to the state Senate in 2018. An enthusiastic supporter of Trump before and after he lost the 2020 presidential election, Grove called him “the greatest of all time” and reiterated false claims that President Biden won the election because of voter fraud.
Grove is a staunch defender of the California oil industry, a critical economic force in her Bakersfield-area Senate district. She has opposed mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren, including the COVID-19 vaccine, and this year successfully pushed through legislation to increase penalties for child sex traffickers.
Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, 47, Republican
Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig is a former youth pastor who also served as mayor of Clovis.
(Craig Kohlruss / Fresno Bee / TNS)
Republican Nathan Magsig is a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors who unsuccessfully ran for Congress last year for the seat occupied by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove).
He has acted as a conservative firebrand in the Fresno area, voting earlier this year to sue the state of California over a law that requires cities to eliminate the Native American slur “squaw” from geographic features and place names. He has also echoed Trumpisms about unfounded election fraud claims.
The former youth pastor who also served as mayor of conservative Clovis was a staunch McCarthy supporter, telling The Times earlier this month: “My focus now is to show my support for him.”
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Wild cards and long shots
Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford)
Former Rep. Devin Nunes, Republican
Former Rep. Connie Conway, Republican
John Burrows, Democrat
Andy Morales, Democrat
