By Valley Ag Voice Staff
In April, a California appellate court ruled against California Secretary of State Shirley Webber’s efforts to take Assemblymember Vince Fong off the ballot for the 20th Congressional District — a seat formerly held by Kevin McCarthy.
The case comes months after a lower court ruled in favor of Fong to keep his name on the ballot for both the Assembly and Congressional races. While his name appears on both ballots, Fong is only campaigning for the congressional seat.
Weber argued that allowing Fong to run for two seats could lead to candidates running for an unlimited number of offices during the same election. Ultimately, the court held that Weber’s argument against Fong’s candidacy and the statute cited — section 8003, subdivision b of the election code — was insufficient to warrant the removal of his name from the congressional ballot.
Fong was the favored candidate in the March 5 election and will move on to the general election in November against his opposition, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux. If Fong is elected to the 20th Congressional District, another special election for the 32nd Assembly seat will be triggered.
