LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� A county sheriff suspended his campaign Monday for a California U.S. House seat once held by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and endorsed a fellow Republican, a May special election to fill out the remainder of McCarthy鈥檚 term.
The move by Tulare County Sheriff all but assures Fong will claim the full term for the 20th Congressional District in November.
Fong, a former state legislator who was backed by McCarthy and former President Donald Trump, defeated Boudreaux in the special election, and the two were set to face off again in November. With Fong , Boudreaux faced long odds of reversing the outcome in the fall.
鈥淚t's time to bring our region together,鈥� Boudreaux said in an
鈥淚鈥檝e known Congressman Fong and worked closely with him and his team for more than a decade. While we were on opposite sides of this campaign, at the end of the day we鈥檙e Republicans, we鈥檙e family men, and fighters who are committed to protecting individual liberty, reducing the cost of living and maintaining safe communities,鈥� Boudreaux said.
Republicans occupy 12 of the state鈥檚 52 U.S. House seats in heavily Democratic California.
The two conservative Republicans and Trump supporters occupy much of the same policy terrain. In the campaign, Boudreaux spotlighted his decades of law-and-order experience and promised to harden the nation鈥檚 porous border. Fong also promised to 鈥渆nd the chaos鈥� at the border with Mexico while prioritizing water and energy needs in the farm belt.
McCarthy鈥檚 dramatic fall in the House 鈥� as the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job 鈥� left behind a messy race to succeed him that exposed rivalries within his own party. He worked behind the scenes to promote Fong鈥檚 candidacy; a political action committee linked to McCarthy steered over $700,000 into the 20th District contest to boost Fong鈥檚 campaign.
McCarthy after being ousted as speaker.
Michael R. Blood, The Associated Press
