Assemblyman Vince Fong not allowed to run for Kevin McCarthy's seat, CA Sec. of State rules

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Another hurdle in the race to represent the Central Valley on Capitol hill and replace former speaker and Congressman Kevin McCarthy.

Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong of Bakersfield threw his hat into the race earlier this week after previously deciding not to run.

"This is probably the most has been the most chaotic past 7 days probably in our region's political history. 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 a the most proven conservative leader," said Fong.

But Friday evening, the California Secretary of State's Office announced Fong will not allowed be allowed to run for the 20th congressional district.

This political chaos all started right after Congressman McCarthy announced he would not be running for reelection.

"That opened up a special extension, allowing people interested in just that Congressional seat to file paperwork, you know that special extension. But you know Assemblyman Fong had already committed himself to running for his assembly seat," said Fresno State political science professor, Thomas Holyoke.

Fong filed for reelection for state assembly before the December 8th filing deadline.

Election code prohibits Fong from appearing in more than one race or withdrawing as a candidate.

Following Weber's announcement Friday night, Fong released a statement regarding the decision, writing in part:

"We fully intend to litigate this decision and will be filing a challenge in Superior Court imminently...I will fight the Secretary of State's misguided decision and do whatever it takes to give voters in our community a real choice in this election because the voters choose our elected officials, not Sacramento."

Holyoke, however, says the law is clear and believes the secretary of state's decision stands on solid ground.

"A seat in the House of Representatives doesn't come open very often, and a lot of people see that as a very plumb position to get so it could be a very intense race," said Holyoke.

One of those people who threw their hat in the race is republican candidate David Giglio. He says he filed to run before McCarthy announced his retirement, and vowed to file a lawsuit if the secretary of state allowed Fong to appear on the congressional ballot.

"Here we have Kevin McCarthy and his protege, trying to break election law, and we have even other opponents in the race encouraging Vince to run even though he knows it's against the law, so we are ready to go if we need to," said David Giglio, candidate for the 20th congressional district.

The California GOP also released a statement about the decision, writing:

"Secretary Weber's role should have solely included certifying the candidate list, but instead she injected politics into the process to pick and choose what candidates could go before voters. The Sacramento Democrat machine should not get to put their thumb on the scale and determine what Republican candidates who appropriately followed the law should get to run for office."

There are still about a dozen other candidates for the race, including Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

While Fong plans to fight the decision, the secretary of state's office made it clear that he will not appear on the list of certified candidates for the 20th congressional district on December 28th.

Stay with Action News for the latest updates on this developing story.

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