California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced the date of the special election to fill the seat vacated by former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
The special primary election will take place on March 19, 2024, and the special election will follow about two months later on May 21, 2024, if no candidate wins a majority of the vote.
Rather than consolidating it with the state’s March 5 primary, the governor scheduled the special primary election at a later date at the request of county officials. Counties in the Bakersfield-area district were concerned that a consolidated election would lead to increased costs and voter confusion, according to the governor’s office.
The election to finish out the rest of McCarthy’s term will run parallel with the race to succeed him. Assemblymember Vince Fong is running to replace his longtime mentor, and confirmed to POLITICO on Monday that he would compete in the special election as well, to finish out the remainder of McCarthy’s term.
Other Republicans vying for the seat include the Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and former congressional candidate David Giglio. (Politico)
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a special election for CA-20, the seat once occupied by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to fill the seat for the remainder of the 118th Congress.
— Cassie Semyon (@casssemyon) January 8, 2024
Primary will be March 19th, general election will be May 21st. @SpecNews1SoCal pic.twitter.com/wJV0sQjMOM
McCarthy announced in December that he would step down at the end of the month—a decision that came two months after being ousted as speaker.
“No matter the odds, or personal cost, we did the right thing," McCarthy wrote in The Wall Street Journal of his decision. “It is in this spirit that I have decided to depart the House at the end of this year to serve America in new ways."
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