Voters head back to the polls to fill Kevin McCarthy's seat

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Voters in parts of Central California are headed back to the polls Tuesday for a Special Election Primary to elect a candidate to serve the remainder of Kevin McCarthy's term.

Just weeks ago, they cast their ballots to see who would serve as their representative in from January 2025 to 2027.

The March 5th Primary set up Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and McCarthy's hand-picked successor, Assemblyman Vince Fong, both Republicans, to face off in November's General Election.

However, voters still need to decide who will fill the remaining months of Kevin McCarthy's empty seat.

That's what voters will decide on Tuesday.

If a candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, they could take over McCarthy's seat within days and serve until January 2025.

However, if nobody captures a majority, there will be a special election on May 21st against the top two finishers.

Three voting centers are open in Kings County, and five drop boxes are in Lemoore and Hanford. The Registrar of Voters says they've seen low turnout, with only about 24% of voters casting their ballot so far while roughly 30% showed up for the March 5th primary.

"We were expecting a better turnout. I'm not sure if it's due to fatigue or the confusion by having such a close election between the March Presidential Primary and our special election for the Congressional District 20," said Lupe Villa, Kings County Registrar of Voters.

In the March 5th Primary, Fong took a clear lead over Boudreaux.

Fong is looking forward to the primary, but also ahead to the November General Election.

"We were able to do very well," said Vince Fong, State Assembly District 32. "We prevailed by over 17% percentage points, and we're going to take that momentum to March 19th and, of course, November."

When asked if Boudreaux would continue his bid for Congress in November, if he loses to Fong on Tuesday, this is what he said.

"If he prevails, we will be carrying buckets of water uphill; it'll be more of a challenge, and I support whoever the voters put into that position, but that decision is going to have to be made as we move forward," said Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, Tulare County.

If you live within the district, you have until Tuesday night to either mail in your ballot, drop it off, or vote in person.

Former President Donald Trump again endorsed Fong through a post on Truth Social last night. Trump had also endorsed Fong in the March 5th primary.