Slate for state seats, U.S. House finalized
SACRAMENTO – The Elections Division of the California Secretary of State has released the final candidate lists for State Assembly, State Senate and U.S. House, and Imperial County is certain to get two new representatives due in part to redistricting stemming from the 2020 U.S. Census.
The primary is June 7. For these races that have more than two candidates only the top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party preference, will move on to the Nov. 8 general election.
For U. S. House, the county moves from the 51st District represented by Juan Vargas to the 25th District. The field of seven includes Brawley physician Brian Tyson running as a Republican and U.S. Rep Raul Ruiz, a Riverside County Democrat who currently holds the seat in the 36th District.
Other House hopefuls include Republicans James Francis Gibson, a retired farmer from Palm Desert; Brian E. Hawkins, a San Jacinto City Council member and pastor; Jonathan Reiss, a media consultant from Wilton; Burt Thakur, a Palm Springs engineering project manager, and Ceci Truman, a Winchester small-business owner.
Tyson is a rare Congressional candidate from Imperial County, which has not had a resident elected to Congress since Victor Veysey, who held a seat from 1971-75. Despite being a Republican running in an area typically dominated by Democrats, Tyson could garner favorite-son support in his home county.
“This man is a Republican and I am Democrat, but it is vitally important we have someone who knows the flavor and taste of Imperial Valley,” Supervisor Michael Kelley said of his support for Tyson at a recent county board meeting. “This means I can go to Washington and have a conversation.”
Vargas is running in the 52nd District.
The county will also get a new state senator as it moves from the 40th District now represented by Sen. Ben Hueso to the 18th District. Hueso is not running because he has reached his two-term limit.
The two-person 18th District race includes Republican Alejandro Galicia, a Chula Vista CEO and veteran’s advocate, and Democrat Steve Padilla, a Chula Vista City Council member/commissioner.
The only district seat in which the county might retain its current representative is State Assembly. While the county is moving from the 56th to the 36th District, the incumbent in the former, Rep. Eduardo Garcia, is on the ballot. He is joined Democrat Marlon G. Ware, a university professor/director from Winchester; and Republican Ian M. Weeks, a Hemet certified financial planner.
Other state offices on the ballot include governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and controller. In addition, Democratic U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed to fill the term vacated by Kamala Harris when she became vice president, faces nearly two dozen challengers in his bid for a full term.