Fong leading Weir for Assembly
In what was supposed to be a one-man contest with the opposite result, Rep. Vince Fong was leading Bakersfield City Councilman Ken Weir Tuesday night in the 32nd District Assembly race.
As of 11:33 p.m., with 80.7% of precincts partially reporting, Fong had 58.7% of the vote to Weir's 41.3%.
Fong has endorsed Weir to succeed him in the race because Fong has made it clear he was running to represent California's 20th Congressional District. His only opponent in that contest, fellow Republican Mike Boudreaux, endorsed Fong and agreed to step aside.
It was unclear how the situation would be resolved, because Fong will not be able to represent the Assembly and the congressional district at the same time. Fong and his spokesman did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, in the 35th District Assembly race, with 82.7% of precincts partially reporting, Democratic incumbent Dr. Jasmeet Bains took a 16-point lead over her Republican challenger, electrician Robert Rosas. The district lies entirely within Kern. It includes northern portions of the county, Arvin, east Bakersfield and Lamont.
Until May, Fong represented the 32nd District, which covers parts of Bakersfield and extends west to McKittrick, east to Ridgecrest and north go Grant Grove Village. He resigned in May to take over the remainder of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy's term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Too late to remove his name for reelection to the Assembly, Fong endorsed Weir to succeed him in the 32nd District seat.
Weir, an accountant for 25 years, has served on the City Council representing Ward 3 since 2014. He was a trustee for the Bakersfield City School District before that, and for 11 years he has served as chairman of the Kern County Republic Party Committee.
In the run-up to Tuesday's election, Weir accused the Legislature of reckless spending and raising taxes while overburdening families and businesses.
Two years ago, Bains beat a better-known Democrat by 21 percentage points to become the state Legislature's first Sikh American.
Earlier this year, Democrats enjoyed a 22 percentage-point advantage in voter registration party preferences in the 35th Assembly District. Bains beat Rosas in the March primary by 14 points.
Bains campaigned on improving affordability for local residents, not only with regard to food prices but also education and fuel. Rosas, who for more than five years has served as an elected member to the executive board of the Kern County Young Republicans, said he stood for small businesses, especially in the face of what he saw as overzealous regulations from Sacramento.
