TULARE AND FRESNO COUNTY – In addition to voting in a new president and U.S. senator, Central Valley voters will select a representative to send to Washington, D.C. in the November election.Â
In California’s 20th Congressional District, Republicans Vince Fong and Mike Boudreaux will appear on the ballot; however, Boudreaux dropped out of the race in July and put his support behind Fong. Congressional District 20 serves a vast area over Tulare, Fresno, Kings and Kern counties and includes the cities of Lemoore, Visalia, Clovis and portions of Bakersfield, as well as communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills.Â
California voters can use the Secretary of State’s online voter registration tool at registertovote.ca.gov to register to vote or check their status. Voters in Fresno County and Tulare County can use an online district lookup tool through their respective county elections office to enter their address and find what Congressional, state, county and city districts they live in.
Fong ran for election to Congress in the March primary against a slate of 12 candidates. As the top two vote-getters, Fong and Boudreaux advanced to the general election with 41.9% and 24% of the vote, respectively.Â
He also ran in the special election to serve out the remainder of McCarthy’s term, which will end in January 2025. After a March primary with nine candidates, Fong and Boudreaux both advanced to a May runoff, where Fong came out on top with 60.6% of the vote.Â
After a bumpy start to his campaign that included multiple legal challenges to his eligibility for the contest, Fong has all but secured himself a seat in Congress for the next two years.Â
Mineral King Publishing did not receive written responses to questions sent to Fong by press time.Â
Congress
District 20 - May special election
Vince Fong (R)*
Mike Boudreaux (R)
Assembly
DISTRICT 32 - March primary
Vince Fong (R)*
David Duane Wood (D, W/I)
Ian David Smith (R, W/I)
Ken Weir (R, W/I)*
Thomas Joseph Willis (R, W/I)
About Vince Fong
Fong was born and raised in Bakersfield and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles and Princeton University. Following his time in school, he worked for Congressman Bill Thomas on international trade policy to open markets for farmers and small businesses, according to his campaign website.
Prior to his election to the California State Assembly in 2016, Fong worked for McCarthy as his district director, a role where he managed regional public policy issues. Fong has been vocal about his pro-life stance toward abortion and is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump; Fong received an endorsement from Trump in the March primary.Â
Fong has advocated against the California gas tax and led efforts in the State Assembly to repeal it. He has also criticized the state’s high speed rail project and said that instead, the state should allocate funding to building new reservoirs for water storage. Fong has also expressed support for oil and gas drilling in the Bakersfield area and spoken out against what he has said is the overregulation of the industry within the state.Â
