SACRAMENTO (KMJ) A Sacramento Superior Court Judge on Thursday said Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) can run for both State Assembly and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Congressional seat.
In her order, Judge Shelleyanne Chang wrote in part, “The Court notes that it is concerned about the outcome of this Petition, as it may result in voter confusion and the disenfranchisement of voters if Fong is ultimately elected for both offices but does not retain one. Moreover, it somewhat defies common sense to find the law permits a candidate to run for two offices during the same election.”
Attorneys for the Secretary of State argued Fong could not run under a specific state elections law, referred to as elections code 8003(b), that could prohibit candidates from running for two different offices. The judge said in court she did not think the rule applied to Fong’s case because he is not running as an independent nominee, which she said the law addresses.
California Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson released the following statement in response to a court ruling to allow Assemblyman Vince Fong to appear on the ballot as a candidate in Congressional District 20:
“Today’s ruling was a victory for the voters of Congressional District 20 who will now get to decide who can best represent them from a full slate of candidates. The Sacramento Democrat machine tried and failed to interfere in a district that heavily favors Republicans, but the court rightly saw the legitimacy of Assemblyman Fong’s candidacy and put an end to Democrats’ political games”.
