Tom McClintock is skeptical of the latest indictment of former President Donald Trump.

The Dept. of Justice announced a third Trump indictment Tuesday, this time for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol unrest.

The 5th District congressman — who represents parts of Fresno and Madera counties and a large swath of Northern California — criticized the DOJ.

“I don’t understand those charges at all. You know, you are allowed to challenge the outcome of an election. You are allowed to express an opinion, whether it’s right or wrong, over the validity of an election. The Democrats did that to Trump quite vigorously in 2016. How that can be turned into a crime is utterly beyond my understanding,” McClintock, R-Elk Grove, said.

McClintock: ‘Long Way’ from Biden Impeachment Vote

Last week, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, floated the idea of an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.

McClintock agreed.

“As an impeachment vote, we’re a long way from that. The first question was an impeachment inquiry, the grounds for impeachment or treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. If it is true that Joe Biden has been receiving millions of dollars through his son’s enterprises in exchange for official acts that would constitute bribery and would be an impeachable offense. But we’re a long way from seeing that proven,” McClintock said.

A congressman since 2009, McClintock tells Politics 101 that he plans to run for his ninth term in 2024.

Quoting Churchill, McClintock said, “I fight for my corner, and I leave when the pub closes.”

Tangipa Outraises Radanovich for Open Assembly Seat

David Tangipa outraised his more experienced rival for an open Central Valley state Assembly seat.

The Clovis Republican may not have run for political office before, but he is a staffer for county Supervisor Nathan Magsig and a former Fresno State football player. He has raised $158,101 for his campaign thus far in 2023.

Former congressman George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, is also running for the seat but has not raised funds. In fact, he posted a negative fundraising total (-$9,800) because he returned two campaign checks from his failed 2022 run for state Senate.

Tangipa has several notable individual endorsements in GOP circles, including the man he is attempting to replace, Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno. Patterson is termed out.

However, Radanovich won the endorsement of the Fresno County Republican Party.

Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, announced her re-election campaign in 2024 in a big way — with a $674,772 haul for 2023. She won her first term for the northwest Fresno-Madera-Merced seat in 2022.

(Disclosure: Granville Homes contributed $2,500 to Tangipa. Granville CEO/president Darius Assemi is the publisher of GV Wire. Assemi also gave $11,000 to Soria.

The only other Central Valley race with more than one candidate is in Kern County. Incumbent Jasmeet Bains, D-Bakersfield, raised $398,372. She is being challenged by fellow Democrat Andrae Gonzales, a Bakersfield city councilman. He raised $101,356.

Other Campaign Contribution Notes

No state senator representing the Central Valley is up for re-election in 2024. Those seats are next up for 2026 and should be competitive.

Only Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, has eligibility remaining to run. She raised $93,647 in 2023 for Senate District 16, with $32,349 cash on hand. She filed last month to run for Congress in 2024 against Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford.

Former state Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, still has a 2026 campaign account active. He did not report any activity in 2023, but has $678,275 remaining. He won election in 2018 but did not run after redistricting in 2022.

Shannon Grove, the current Bakersfield Republican District 12 state senator, is planning to run for Board of Equalization in 2026. She raised $76,000 in 2023, with $50,326 cash on hand. She has approximately $20,000 in cash in her state Senate account.

Fresno City Councilman Nelson Esparza is also running for BOE. He posted a $9,000 total for the first half of 2023, all from the former Assembly campaign account of Adam Gray. Esparza has $92,962 cash on hand, mostly raised in 2022.

State Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, is termed out after 2026. She has an account open to run for state treasurer. She raised $157,583 in 2023, with $141,013 cash on hand.

Karbassi Draws Challenger

When justifying his vote last year to raise city council salaries, Mike Karbassi said it would inspire more citizens to run.

Karbassi, the District 2 Fresno city councilman representing the northwest part of the city, may get his wish. Nonprofit director Matthew Gillian pulled papers to run for the seat.

Gillian founded the Inspiration Transportation nonprofit and has worked on the Transform Fresno and Fresno Drive committees.

“Sometimes I felt like we were stuck in the moment. And I want to see my hometown, the city where I’m raising my son, I want to see it progress forward. And I’m hoping that with some new energy injected into the city council that, we can actually do that,” Gillian said.

Karbassi would be running for this third (and second full) term in 2024.