Sole Democrat in race quits

Emilio Huerta is ending his campaign for a House seat.

WASHINGTON — The lone candidate for a U.S House seat in California that the Democrats consider a prime pickup opportunity for the midterms is ending his campaign.

The Fresno Bee reported the news Sunday and said Emilio Huerta wrote in an op-ed that he would instead focus on helping other Democrats win elections.

Huerta, a lawyer and the son of labor rights icon Dolores Huerta, was trying for the second time to unseat GOP Rep. David Valadao. He lost to Valadao by 13 percentage points in 2016.

Huerta did not respond to requests for comment.

Democrats are not ceding the race, and expect a new candidate to announce before this week’s filing deadline.

Some Democrats, concerned that Huerta was a weak candidate, are breathing a sigh of relief.

Elected officials and Democratic Party operatives in the Central Valley and in Washington had told The Times they felt the candidate’s mother pressured them to keep other candidates from entering the race.

In 2016, Valadao’s 21st Congressional District backed Hillary Clinton for president by a wide margin and Democrats overwhelmingly outnumber Republicans there.

Huerta had just about $100,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31 and did scant campaigning. Valadao had nearly $1 million in his war chest at the end of the year.

Ben Ray Luján, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, thanked Huerta in a statement.

“Emilio Huerta and his family have made immense contributions to the Central Valley and our country as a whole. Every hardworking Californian owes them a debt of gratitude for their advocacy on behalf of families, children and our progressive values nationwide,” Luján said.

Local activists and party strategists have been floating the names of other potential candidates who could run in the majority Latino district that includes parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties.

Several Central Valley Democratic Party sources who requested anonymity said they expect engineer T.J. Cox to announce a run next week. Cox has been running in a crowded field in the nearby 10th Congressional District, but he owns a home and business in Fresno.

Cox had less than $300,000 in cash on hand at the beginning of the year, putting him behind the other Democrats in his race.

Cox previously ran for Congress in the area. In 2006, he lost to former Rep. George Radanovich by more than 20 percentage points in what was the 19th Congressional District before boundaries were redrawn.

Even though only 29% of voters in the district are registered as Republicans, Valadao has easily fended off Democratic challengers since his first election in 2012.