U.S. House of Representatives

What’s at stake?

New boundaries create new opportunities to shake things up for Congressional representatives covering the central San Joaquin Valley. 

Every election is critical. But this year, in addition to inflation, a looming recession, plus ongoing drought and wildfire concerns, Congress will likely play a role in addressing future concerns about election integrity and the future of our democracy.

What does a Congressperson do?

A Congressperson is one of 435 people elected by their various communities to serve in the U.S. Congress, the “lower house” of the legislature – meaning, they have less power than the U.S. Senate.

Representing your community in Congress is a full-time job. Legislators are paid $174,000 per year as a base salary. They serve two-year terms, and can be re-elected as many times as the voters would like.

Congresspeople write new laws, help their constituents navigate federal bureaucracy, advocate for money for local projects of importance, and, if they serve on special committees, hold oversight hearings to regulate industry and federal programs. They also intervene in finding solutions in local problems when federal agencies or resources are involved.

Who is running for Congress to represent Fresno and Madera Counties?

There are four congressional districts that include parts of Fresno and Madera Counties. Each district includes around 760,000 people. 

Think you know your congressional representative? Thanks to redistricting, you might want to check again, as the boundaries have changed dramatically this year.

About the District

Congressional District 5 includes much of the foothills and communities of the Sierra Nevadas, from the suburbs of Sacramento on the north all the way to Sequoia National Park and Hume Lake to the south. On the valley floor, the district includes north Fresno, the Madera Ranchos, Turlock, and Modesto. More than 71% of the residents of this district identify as white. 

Congressman Tom McClintock, a republican, is running to represent this new district. He is being challenged by democrat Mike Barkley, a U.S. Navy veteran and attorney.

About the Candidates

Tom McClintock is a Republican Congressman currently serving California’s fourth Congressional District, which stretches from Lake Tahoe, through Yosemite Valley and on to Kings Canyon. McClintock has been the incumbent representative since 2009. Due to redistricting, he will be running to represent California’s fifth district.

A member of the House Judiciary Committee, McClintock serves as the Ranking Member of the subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship as well as on the subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.  He is a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee, the subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and on the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, and a member of the  House Budget Committee.  

Prior to his election to Congress, McClintock served 22 years in the California legislature. 

McClintock has widely denied that America has a problem with racism and is vehemently opposed to immigration of undocumented people. On his website, he asks, “How are our schools made better by packing classrooms with non-English speaking students?” He also stated that he believes anti-Asian hate attacks are not a problem.

He has a 9% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters, and a 55% approval rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

His opponent, democrat Mike Barkley, is a U.S. Navy veteran and lawyer. This is Barkley’s sixth attempt to secure a seat in Congress. The 76-year-old Oakland native, who now lives in Manteca, describes himself as a progressive Democrat, moderate environmentalist, and local activist. Some of his top priorities include affordable housing, Medicare for All, a cleaner environment, and gun reform. 

Barkley earned his law degree in 1980 from the Armstrong College Law School in Berkeley, California. 

About the District

Congressional District 13 includes much of the west side of the San Joaquin Valley along the I-5 corridor, and dips inland to include the larger cities of Merced, Madera, Chowchilla, and parts of Modesto and Turlock. The district is majority Latino.  

The open seat is considered a toss-up, with democrat Adam Gray, who had previously served in the California State Assembly, running against republican John Duarte, owner of Duarte Nurseries.

About the Candidates

John Duarte, a republican, is a fourth-generation farmer and owner of Duarte Nurseries in Hughson, near Modesto. According to his campaign website, his priorities are to “fight the high cost of living, protect valley water and farms, and fight for safer communities.”

In a recent debate, he attributed the problem of homelessness to policies that he says allow drug addicts to remain out of jail.  He said he would work on it.  In that same debate, Duarte also disapproved of the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act, and said there was no room to work with any democrats in Washington.

Adam Gray, a democrat from Merced, currently serving on the California Assembly, representing the 21st district, which includes Merced County and portions of Stanislaus County. Gray was first elected to the state assembly in 2012. He is a member of the committees on Accountability & Administrative Review, Agriculture, Emergency Management, and Revenue and Taxation.

Gray is a self-described “radical centrist” who has developed a reputation as a business-friendly democrat. In a response to a survey from the Los Angeles Times, he said his priorities are water storage for farmers, clean drinking water for residents, the cost of living, workforce training, access to health care, public safety, and education.

In his tenure in the state legislature, he has been a strong advocate for more water for farmers, pushing to audit the state’s management of storage reservoirs. He has also worked to secure more resources for UC Merced and Merced College. He crossed party lines to join republicans in the legislature to suspend the state’s gas tax.

Gray has a 29% approval rating from the California Environmental Voters, and an 88% approval rating from the California Chamber of Commerce, one of the state’s largest business groups.

About the District

Congressional District 20 is a new district that includes the foothill and mountain communities of the southern Sierra Nevadas and high desert of Kern County – but also comes inland to include Clovis, south Visalia, north Hanford, Lemoore, and west Bakersfield. The district is 62% white.

Kevin McCarthy, the republican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives is running for the seat against Melissa Wood, a democrat and teacher. McCarthy is expected to win the seat, designed to be very safe for republicans. If republicans take control of Congress after the November 2022 elections, Kevin McCarthy could become the speaker of the House of Representatives, the most powerful position in Congress.

About the Candidates

Kevin McCarthy, the republican minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, is currently serving California’s 23rd district.  McCarthy was first elected to Congress in 2006. 

Despite asking Trump to resign after the Jan. 6 insurrection, McCarthy then cast a vote to overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election.

A native of Bakersfield, McCarthy attended California State University, Bakersfield for his undergraduate and graduate studies. 

Marisa Wood is a retired middle-school English teacher and democrat running against McCarthy. Her priorities include education, making healthcare affordable for all, economy and labor, reproductive rights, homelesssness, and veterans. 

In an interview with KGET, she said that she’s running because “I have the courage to stand up to the bully Kevin McCarthy, career politician.” 

Wood obtained her bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

About the District

Congressional District 21 includes a large part of the central San Joaquin Valley, including central and south neighborhoods of Fresno, north Visalia, and many small farming communities: Fowler, Selma, Kingsburg, Dinuba, Orange Cove, Reedley, Orosi, Woodlake, and Ivanhoe. The district is majority-Latino.

Jim Costa, a democrat who currently serves in Congress, is running against Michael Maher, who owns an aviation business.

About the Candidates

Jim Costa, a democrat from Fresno, currently represents California’s 16th Congressional District, and is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent the 21st Congressional District. 

Costa has served the San Joaquin Valley in the U.S. House of Representatives since January of 2005. Currently, he serves on the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and House Foreign Affairs committees. Before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Costa served for 24 years in the California state legislature.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University, Fresno. Raised on a dairy farm in Fresno’s Kearney Park area, Congressman Costa is a third-generation family farmer.

Costa has a history of advocating for water storage projects for farmers, affordable housing, high-speed rail, and investments to support infrastructure development and economic development throughout the San Joaquin Valley. 

He has developed a reputation as a business-friendly democrat, with a 69% approval rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a 96% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters in 2021.

Michael Maher, a republican from Kingsburg, is a former veteran as well as a former FBI special agent; now he owns an aviation business. Earlier this year, he ran to replace Devin Nunes’ in Congressional District 22, but lost to republican Connie Conway. 

Maher is a graduate of Fresno Pacific University and completed the Senior Executive Fellows program at the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is a graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia and the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power School.

Maher is a member of the Naval War College Foundation, The Pacific Council on International Policy, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, Overseas Security Advisory Council and is an associate life member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation.

According to his website, his priorities include defending water rights, growing the economy, improving safety, and reducing inflation.