Secretary of State appealing ruling that would allow Vince Fong to run for Kevin McCarthy's seat

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The California Secretary of State is appealing a ruling from a Sacramento Superior Court judge that would allow Vince Fong to enter the race to fill Congressman Kevin McCarthy's seat.

Secretary Shirley Weber previously announced Fong would be removed from the ballot because he had already filed for re-election to the state assembly.

The 2024 race to determine who will represent parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties continues to cause turmoil.

Weber announced Friday she will appeal the ruling of a Sacramento judge after the outcome of a lawsuit determined Assemblyman Vince Fong can run for the 20th congressional district.

"We're looking at the process of potentially filing to intervene and join the appeal," said David Giglio, California's 20th congressional district candidate.

Republican candidate David Giglio says he believes it is not a political issue but a legal one.

"We have to have the same standard for everybody. This isn't a D or an R issue; this is about the law, and we can't expect others to follow a law if we are not going to follow a law when we don't want to," said Giglio.

This all started when Valley congressman Kevin McCarthy announced he was resigning from his seat at the end of the year.

While Fong originally said he would not run, he told Action News two weeks ago why he changed his mind.

"But Shannon Grove is a friend, and when she decided not to run, I decided to step in to ensure that we, as a community, are unified around the most proven conservative leader," said Assemblyman Vince Fong (R) Bakersfield.

However, the secretary of state announced he would not be allowed to run because it violates state election law, which prohibits a candidate from running for more than one race.

But Fong filed a lawsuit, and on Thursday, a judge decided he could run.

Fong released a statement after the decision, stating in part, "((the)) ruling is a victory for the voters of the 20th Congressional District, who will now have the opportunity to select the candidate of their choice in the March 5th election."

Now, the certified list of candidates for California's primary elections shows Fong for both State Assembly Member District 32 and the United States Representative District 20.

Which Giglio says is not right.

"This is also unfair to his assembly constituents who now have -- there's nobody running against him. They're potentially going to be left without an assemblyman," said Giglio.

In addition to announcing the appeal, Weber released a statement about the decision of the case:

"I strongly disagree with the outcome of this case, and I am gravely concerned about the consequences of today's ruling. I do agree, however, with the Court's expressed concern that this ruling 'may result in voter confusion and the disenfranchisement of voters, if Fong is ultimately elected for both offices but does not retain one."

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