■David Tangipa solidifies second-place margin for Assembly District 8.

■Valadao and Salas head to November 2024 rematch.

■Boudreaux holds on to second place and will face Fong in November.

■Why did Maxwell write-in votes disappear?

A favorable voting update from Fresno County may boost David Tangipa into the general election.

Tuesday’s latest numbers gave Tangipa, R-Clovis, a 1,763 net increase over Caleb Helsel, D-Clovis, and a secure second-place foothold for Assembly District 8.

As of Wednesday, former congressman George Radanovich leads overall with 36%, and will assuredly advance to November.

In California’s election system, the top two advance in Assembly races. Tangipa leads Helsel, 31.2% to 29.8%, or 1,825 votes. Michael Matheson is fourth in the four-person race with 3%.

“We’re ready to move on to November. And I think everybody’s excited. We’re looking at the numbers coming out of Fresno, and I’m honored to have the support and looking forward to working even more, to build this coalition,” Tangipa said.

Fresno County has been Tangipa’s strongest district, where he is the county leader with 39% of the vote. County election officials estimate 5,500 ballots remain to be counted, with the next update on Friday.

The seven counties that comprise AD 8 — which includes parts or all of Fresno, Tuolumne, Madera, Calaveras, Mariposa, Inyo, and Mono counties — have approximately 18,000 ballots remaining. Not all those will be in the district.

It appears mathematically unlikely that Helsel will finish in the top two. He trailed by 35 votes after Election Night returns, and led at one point during the various stages of vote counting.

County election officials must certify by April 4; the state must certify by April 12.

 

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CD 22 Again Pits Valadao Against Salas

The Congressional District 22 race is set for a rematch, as Rep. David Valadao and former Assemblymember Rudy Salas will meet again. Associated Press called the race on Wednesday.

With the latest election updates, Valadao, R-Hanford, has 33%; Salas, D-Bakersfield, was at 31%.

In 2022, Valadao beat Salas by fewer than 4,000 votes.

Democrats hold a 16-point advantage over Republicans in registered voters. But Valadao held the seat from 2013 until 2019, lost it for one term, and retook it in 2020. The district has changed slightly since Valadao was first elected due to redistricting.

The current district covers parts of Kern, Tulare, and Kings counties.

“If given yet another term in Washington, Congressman Valadao will continue to enable an agenda that makes Central Valley families sicker, poorer, and less free,” Salas said in a news release. “From Valadao voting to take affordable healthcare away from thousands of our neighbors and allowing medication costs to skyrocket, to sponsoring legislation that makes healthcare abortion illegal including for victims of rape, Congressman Valadao has abandoned our Valley families.”

Election watchers wondered if two other candidates would create a one-party race in November. Former Fresno City Councilmember Chris Mathys, R-Firebaugh, has 22%; state Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, has 14%.

The race is considered highly competitive, with both national political parties involved.

For example, a third-party group spent $1.1 million on ads blasting Mathys in a strategy to lift Valadao.

“Almost no one in Congress reflects their district or represents their constituents better than David Valadao, which is why he keeps winning. We are proud to support David and will do whatever it takes to ensure he sends Democrats’ lackluster rerun Rudy Salas packing a second time this fall,” said Congressional Leadership Fund president Dan Conston.

Four of the five Central Valley congressional races will feature a rematch of the 2022 runoffs:

• CD 5: Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Roseville vs. Michael Barkley, D-Manteca
• CD 13: Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto vs. Adam Gray, D-Merced
• CD 21: Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno vs. Michael Maher, R-Kingsburg
• CD 20: Rep. David Valadao, R-near Hanford vs. Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield

AP contributed to this item.

Boudreaux Claims Second Place in CD 20

A batch of newly counted ballots from Kern County did not help Bakersfield Democrat Marisa Wood in Congressional District 20.

Assemblymember Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, is the clear top pick at 41% and will head to November.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, R-Springville, maintained the second position over educator Wood, 25% to 21%. Although she leads Boudreaux by 5.8% in Kern County, it was not enough to take silver.

Kern County has approximately 19,200 ballots remaining countywide. Not all of them are in CD 20.

Associated Press called the race for Boudreaux.

“I got into this race because the Valley demanded leadership in Washington with real experience confronting our biggest issues: safety and our open border. Since entering the race in December, I’ve logged thousands of miles of travel across the four counties of this district to share my vision for a stronger, safer Valley for all. Despite a tight window of time and a tall hill to climb, our journey is just beginning. Onward,” Boudreaux said in a news release.

The district includes parts of Kern, Fresno, Tulare, and Kings counties.

If the numbers hold, it will be an all-Republican general election for the term starting Jan. 3, 2025.

Fong, Boudreaux, and Wood are three of the nine candidates running in the Tuesday, March 19, special election to serve the remainder of the term for the vacant seat. Kevin McCarthy quit Dec. 31.

If no candidate earns a majority on March 19, the top two advance to a May 21 runoff.

Where Did Those Write-In Votes Go?

Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell ran unopposed for District 4 (east-central Fresno). He did not achieve 100%, but 98.93% is pretty darn good.

In returns last week, 92 voters chose the “write-in” option, even though no candidate qualified as an official write-in. Tuesday’s update from Fresno County saw the write-in total drop to 60.

What happened?

County election clerk James Kus explained that every potential “write-in” vote is examined, even without a qualified candidate. Workers check to ensure Maxwell’s name wasn’t written as a write-in.

In most cases, the write-in votes will be moved to the undervote column. In a rare case, Kus said, there will be an overvote (if Maxwell’s name is checked, along with a write-in).

“Eventually, hopefully by Friday, all of the write-ins for FCC4 will be adjudicated and moved to their appropriate buckets and since there is no certified write-in the total write-ins will go to zero,” Kus said.