GOP Rep. John Duarte faces Democrat Adam Gray in 13th District House rematch
Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, and former Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, again face off for California’s 13th Congressional District.
Nonpartisan election forecasters think this 2024 race is a toss-up. In 2022, Duarte and Gray were in the nation’s second-closest U.S. House of Representatives race.
The 13th holds all of Merced County and chunks of Madera, Stanislaus, Fresno and San Joaquin counties.
The March 5 primary will offer a preview of the Nov. 5 general election because they are the only congressional candidates on the ballot.
John Duarte
Party: Republican
Age: 57
Birthplace: Modesto, California
Residence: Hughson, California
Occupation: U.S. Representative, farmer
Education: San Diego State University (Bachelor’s); University of the Pacific (MBA)
Offices held: U.S. Representative, 2023-present
Campaign website address: johnduarteforcongress.com
Q. What steps will you urge to help reduce federal deficits?
I am proud to vote for bipartisan budget deals to reduce the wasteful spending that causes inflation and higher prices on everyday items. We need to get prices back under control while protecting federal investment in benefits for our veterans and the programs our senior citizens rely on.
Q. What is your view on abortion rights? What would you want Congress to do now, if anything?
I am opposed to all efforts to federalize abortion law.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
We need immigration policy that keeps hardworking families in our Valley by offering them a legal presence here in the U.S. We need border policy that ends the flow of drugs and cartel violence into the Valley. I am fighting for the Dignity Act alongside commonsense Democrats, Republicans and Independents to accomplish these goals.
Q. What should Congress’ next steps be in dealing with climate issues?
I support environmental policy that puts working families first — not big political donors. We need to bring good-paying jobs to the Valley so families don’t have to drive so far to work — rather than punishing them with extreme gas taxes. We need to build dams so our kids have clean water — rather than building wasteful, unrealistic projects like the High-Speed Rail line.
Adam Gray
Party: Democratic
Age: 46
Birthplace: Merced, California
Residence: Merced, California
Occupation: Lecturer and administrator, UC Merced
Education: UC Santa Barbara (BA)
Offices held: California State Assemblyman, 2012-2022
Campaign website address: adamgrayforcongress.com
Q. What steps will you urge to help reduce federal deficits?
Deficit spending is irresponsible and the fastest way to grow the national debt. George Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and President Joe Biden all increased the deficit. The truth is that there is wasteful spending that needs to be cut, and there are loopholes and tax cheats that cost our country billions of dollars every year. Reducing the debt means closing loopholes, forcing billionaires and large corporations to pay their fair share and cutting wasteful spending.
As a state legislator, I voted for 10 balanced budgets on time — all while funding a new medical education program at UC Merced, building critical infrastructure projects like Campus Parkway and passing a water bond that invested nearly $3 billion in water storage projects.
John Duarte wants to let the rich continue to cheat on their taxes. He is working to stop the IRS from going after tax dodgers and believes the rich should pay lower taxes than middle-class Americans. That’s wrong. Blue Dog Democrats used to talk about a Balanced Budget Amendment: I think that’s a concept we should revisit.
Q. What is your view on abortion rights? What would you want Congress to do now, if anything?
Women have a right to control their own bodies. Congress should guarantee the right to access abortion and contraception nationwide.
Roe v. Wade must become the law of the land, just as it was for years. Only the Congress can make that happen and I will vote to do that. John Duarte won’t.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
Both parties have failed to fulfill their promises on the border. Trump didn’t build a wall and Mexico didn’t pay for it. Meanwhile, Democrats still don’t have a clear policy for the border.
I support comprehensive immigration reform including a path to permanent residence and citizenship. I will fight to protect DREAMers by reauthorizing and expanding DACA. I’ll advocate for policies so law-abiding immigrant families don’t live in fear that mom or dad won’t come home at night because they were deported.
But reform also means imposing accountability on criminals. That means more border patrol agents to go after human trafficking rings and cracking down on the cartels running drugs like fentanyl into our country. It means working with law enforcement to deport violent criminals, Homeland Security to disrupt terrorist operations and judges to bring traffickers to justice.
Q. What should Congress’ next steps be in dealing with climate issues?
Just look at what we are doing in our own backyard. Dos Rios Ranch was 2,000 acres of marginal farmland that has been transformed into a spectacular floodplain that nourishes salmon, feeds native birds and plants and replenishes our groundwater. At the same time, it has dramatically diminished the flood risk for communities like Gustine, Newman, Patterson, Grayson, Westley and Lathrop.
In the Valley, our dairies have figured out how to turn manure into electricity and our irrigation districts are covering canals with solar panels, which means more water for farmers and more clean energy where we need it.
Investing in our future is how we solve climate change. Government mandates don’t work. They increase prices on everything from pork and eggs to cars and utility bills. If we invest in the future of innovation, we can address the climate crisis in a fair and equitable way.
