McCarthy Protégé Wins California House Seat After Trump Endorsement

California has a new congressman after the results of a special election were announced.

Speaker Emeritus Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) protégé, California Assemblyman Vince Fong, won the seat, giving the GOP a slightly larger edge in the majority, which now stands at 218-213.

McCarthy vacated his seat purposely so a special election would fill the seat to give Fong the nod and make it easier for him to defend the seat in the 2024 general election.

Give Fong the Nod

Fong is widely considered to be an establishment candidate, but he is also the protégé of McCarthy, which is why Trump endorsed him.

There was a MAGA candidate in the election, but Trump decided to stick with his buddy McCarthy on this one, which did turn some heads among MAGA Republicans.

Fong also had to battle California Democrats to even get on the ballot.

Since he had already filed to run in the Assembly, California’s Democrat Secretary of State disqualified him from the special election due to the election laws forbidding a candidate to be posted for two different positions on the same ballot.

Fong litigated the matter and won, and now he is a congressman.

After Fong won, Trump celebrated the victory on Truth Social, posting, “Now is the time to unite around Vince Fong and elect a true Republican to this seat.”

Fong will face the same opponent in the general election as he did in the special election, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

This district, CA-20, is an entrenched red district, so Fong should be considered the frontrunner in the race.

If he were to lose the general election, it would be considered a massive upset, especially since he has the backing of both Trump and McCarthy.