The candidate chosen by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)to replace him in Congress is not allowed to run for the seat.
Assembly member Vince Fong is ineligible to run for the 20th Congressional District of California “because he had previously filed paperwork to run for reelection to the California State Assembly,” according to a press release from California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
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Fong had initially decided not to run for McCarthy’s seat and filed for re-election. He changed his mind after state Sen. Shannon Grove announced she was not running for the seat.
Since California state law doesn’t allow Fong to withdraw as a candidate from the assembly race and prohibits any candidate from filing nomination papers for more than one office, he was deemed ineligible to run for Congress.
“Mr. Fong filed his completed nomination documents for Assembly District 32 prior to the close of the December 8, 2023 filing deadline,” Weber said. “Mr. Fong then submitted completed nomination documents for Congressional District 20 during the 5-day extension period triggered by the incumbent’s decision not to seek re-election. State law prohibits any candidate from filing nomination papers for more than one office at the same election.”
“As such, the Secretary of State’s office has determined that Mr. Fong’s filed nomination papers for Congressional District 20 were improperly submitted,” the statement continued. “Mr. Fong will not appear on the list of certified candidates for Congressional District 20 that our office will transmit to county election officials on candidates on December 28.”
Fong’s campaign plans to challenge the decision, which they called “an unprecedented interference in the candidate filing process,” according to the Modesto Bee.
