BAKERSFIELD, Calif — Residents in Assembly District 32 will soon choose Rep. Vince Fong’s successor after going months without representation in Sacramento.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that a special election will take place April 29 for the seat, which covers parts of Kern and Tulare counties.
Farmer and entrepreneur Stan Ellis was quick to announce his candidacy Wednesday. He already has Fong’s endorsement, along with several others from the Valley’s GOP.
In a statement announcing his candidacy, Ellis said “Vince Fong has been a steadfast advocate for the Central Valley, building on a legacy of strong leadership in this district. I look forward to working with him in his new role in Congress to continue delivering results for our Valley.”
Ellis and Fong competed against each other in a special primary election earlier this year to replace Kevin McCarthy in Congress – a seat that Fong eventually won. Ellis garnered 2% of the vote, placing eighth in the primary.
Ellis bills himself as a conservative Republican who will fight against the state’s Democratic supermajority in Sacramento. The candidate also touted his business experience in his candidacy announcement. Ellis leads a quantum computing lab called Qubitekk, as well as an investment firm focusing on the oil and gas industry called Ellis Energy Investments.
He’s the only candidate to publicly throw his hat in the ring so far. Bakersfield Councilman Ken Weir had run for the assembly seat in November. Weir lost to Fong by some 20 points, however, and his representatives declined to state whether he would run again.
Ellis has endorsements from the Kern and Tulare county sheriffs and Kern County supervisors, as well as other state and congressional elected officials.
“I’m running to defend our way of life and address the real issues facing our Valley – securing our borders, protecting our water and energy resources, improving rural healthcare, and investing in our children’s future,” Ellis said in a statement.
The special election for Assembly District 32 comes after a long saga over Fong’s future in politics. His name had appeared on the November ballot twice – an unprecedented situation in California politics stemming from a century-old loophole in the state’s election code.
Fong had initially planned to run for reelection to Assembly District 32 last year, but then decided to run for House District 20. The seat was held by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy before he resigned from Congress.
After Fong won both the House District 20 and the Assembly District 32 seats this November, he formally vacated his former Assembly position and chose to stay in Congress.
April’s election will be the fifth election for voters in this region in just over a year.
