BAKERSFIELD, Calif. --- (KBAK/FOX58) The long-awaited election to fill former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's seat is almost here.
California State Assemblyman Vince Fong takes on Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux for the rest of McCarthy's term in office. Both are staunch Republicans, so who has the advantage? Political strategist Rob Stutzman said it is Fong due to his Bakersfield ties with how much of the district is made up of the city.
"What I come back to in this race is that regionally this is a Kern County seat," Stutzman said. "This is a part of the state where those county lines typically have mattered a bit in elections and I continue to believe that this a big advantage for Fong."
The Director of UC-Merced's CAPE program, Professor Nathan Monroe, agrees with Stutzman. However, Monroe said you cannot overlook Boudreaux's popularity outside of Kern County.
"Boudreaux is an elected sheriff in a separate county," Monroe said. "Boudreaux is generally very popular in the non-Bakersfield part of the district."
The polls close at 8 p.m. on May 21.
by William Silverstein, Eyewitness News
