Republican running to replace Kevin McCarthy to sue California officials over Vince Fong bid

A candidate running to succeed Rep. Kevin McCarthy says he will sue California election officials if they allow Assemblyman Vince Fong to run under circumstances that contradict state law.

David Giglio is an “American First” Republican who announced his intent to run in California’s 20th Congressional District before McCarthy said he’d resign. He says he will challenge the California secretary of state and Kern County officials in state court if they let Fong, who already qualified for the Assembly before filing for Congress, run.

“While the Lord might forgive Mr. Fong for going back on his word, the laws of the State of California make it clear that what he is attempting to do is illegal under two sections of the state election code,” Giglio said in a statement.

“Former Speaker McCarthy and Mr. Fong’s misguided actions are yet another example of the corrupt Washington cartel acting outside the boundaries of the law,” he added.

Fong, R-Bakersfield, the best-known Republican in the race who served as retiring Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s district director for about a decade before joining the Assembly, opted against running for his former boss’s seat last week, saying “after a lot of thoughtful and prayerful consideration with my family, I plan to run for reelection in the Assembly.” He qualified to run for re-election in his district before Friday’s deadline.

By Monday, Fong changed his mind, and was sworn in as a candidate for Congress in Kern County that day. The deadline to run in California’s 20th Congressional District was extended until today, Dec. 13, at 5 p.m. because the incumbent, McCarthy, decided to retire from Congress. McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, endorsed Fong Tuesday.

With the Assembly seat filing deadline passed, Fong’s name must stay on the ballot as a candidate for that race, according to both the California secretary of state’s office and Kern County. And a candidate cannot run for two offices on the same ballot under California election code.

“If the California Secretary of State and Kern County Recorder are willing to disregard existing election laws due to what they are now claiming to be ‘unusual circumstances,’ we will take legal action against both parties to force them to adhere to the law,” Giglio’s campaign attorney, John M. Pierce of the National Constitutional Law Union, said in a statement. “No one is above the law, not the Secretary of State, the Kern County Recorder, Kevin McCarthy, or Assemblyman Fong.”

Kern County has yet to respond to a request for comment about Fong’s situation.

“Because of the unusual circumstances, we are carefully reviewing the issue,” a spokesman for the secretary of state told The Bee. “We’ll provide clarifying information as soon as possible.”

Fong’s campaign said there is no issue.

“Assemblyman Fong has qualified as a candidate for Congress and the voters of the 20th Congressional District will have the opportunity to select him as their next Congressman. Our hope is that a process will emerge for new candidates to file for the 32nd Assembly District in the March primary,” said spokesman Ryan Gardiner.

Fong, 44, currently represents California’s 32nd Assembly district, and was first elected in 2016. Prior to that, he served as the district director to McCarthy for almost a decade.

McCarthy, who turns 59 in January, announced last week that he would retire from Congress at the year’s end. Eight GOP hardliners and all Democrats voted to remove him as speaker, a role McCarthy coveted for years and held for nine months, after far-right Republicans were dissatisfied with his handling of spending bills.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux has pulled papers to collect the necessary signatures to file. A number of other candidates have announced their intent to run.

Depending on when McCarthy retires, California Gov. Gavin Newsom may call for a special election to fill the remainder of his term.