Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) will not seek reelection (he was House Speaker pro tem after McCarthy's removal) McCarthy also out soon

GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, an ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Financial Services Committee chairman, will not seek reelection, but plans to finish out his term, McHenry announced Tuesday.

McHenry served as speaker pro tempore when McCarthy was ousted in October.

USincognito said:

I listened to some interesting speculation about whether McCarthy might leave Congress and tend to agree with the person who observed that he thinks he's Napoleon on Elba waiting for his triumphant return (my phrasing).

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Kevin McCarthy to leave Congress at the end of this year​

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is resigning from Congress and will leave at the end of this year, he announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Wednesday — a highly anticipated decision that comes two months after his unprecedented ouster from the speakership.

Matt Gaetz was quick to take a victory lap, posting “McLeavin” and promoting a previously released thirteen-minute video based on the ouster of McCarthy, which he led.

[Bakersfield is no Elba, and only marginally better than Saint Helena.]

essentialsaltes said:

Kevin McCarthy to leave Congress at the end of this year​

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And the [lackofa] succession plan has resulted in chaos.

First, McCarthy’s former staff member, Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong, said he would not run for Congress and instead would seek reelection to his Bakersfield seat in the state Assembly. Fong’s announcement cleared the way for another McCarthy ally, GOP state Sen. Shannon Grove, to enter the race — but then she too said she wouldn’t run. Fong then changed his mind and filed to run, only to be barred from the ballot by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, who said state law prohibits candidates from running for two offices in one election.

[Fong is suing.]

[There are a dozen other candidates.]

Aside from Fong, the only other candidate who has previously held elected office is Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux. Other Republicans include David Giglio, a far-right, self-described “America First” candidate who has been critical of McCarthy; Matt Stoll, a former fighter pilot who operates a landscaping business and has run for Congress twice before; and Kyle Kirkland, the owner of Fresno’s only card room.

[Kind of like a mini Gray Davis recall election, but where will we get candidates the likes of Mary Carey, Angelyne or Gary Coleman [RIP]]

The most prominent Democrat in the race is Bakersfield teacher Marisa Wood, who raised more than $1 million in her unsuccessful run against McCarthy in 2022.

essentialsaltes said:

Fong then changed his mind and filed to run, only to be barred from the ballot by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, who said state law prohibits candidates from running for two offices in one election.

[Fong is suing.]

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[Fong is winning.]

Assemblymember Vince Fong can run for Kevin McCarthy’s House seat, court rules​

In her ruling, Chang wrote that allowing Fong to run for both offices “somewhat defies common sense” and might also confuse voters.

Fong argued that the law has not been applicable since 2010, when California voters changed the state’s primary system, scrapping party nominations for a setup that lets the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of their party affiliation.

Chang agreed with Fong, saying the state law applies only to someone going through California’s old primary system of party nominations.

Chang’s ruling is understandable, said Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School. Given how the state law was written and not updated, she said, the judge may have been “left without any choice.”

House GOP majority to shrink to 2 with Ohio lawmaker’s early resignation​

House Republicans’ already-slim majority will dwindle even further later this month when Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) resigns earlier than expected.

Johnson’s office on Tuesday confirmed the congressman’s new official resignation date of Jan. 21, after he was expected to resign to take a job as president of Youngstown State University before mid-March.

[If this keeps up, maybe we'll have Speaker Jeffries before June.]

essentialsaltes said:

Assemblymember Vince Fong can run for Kevin McCarthy’s House seat, court rules
In her ruling, Chang wrote that allowing Fong to run for both offices “somewhat defies common sense” and might also confuse voters.

Chang’s ruling is understandable, said Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School. Given how the state law was written and not updated, she said, the judge may have been “left without any choice.”

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A California candidate will be on the ballot twice in November [and once in May]. What if he wins both races?​

Fong filed to run for reelection to the state Assembly, where he represents the Bakersfield area, then, after McCarthy announced his retirement, submitted paperwork to run for the newly vacant seat in Congress. Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, tried to keep Fong out of the congressional primary, saying state election law barred candidates from running for two offices at the same time.

[As above, the court allowed him to run in both races.]

The court decision will create a strange ballot in November and an even stranger possible outcome in the San Joaquin Valley. Fong will be listed as the only candidate for the 32nd Assembly District, and one of two candidates for the 20th Congressional District in the House of Representatives. [California now does top-two runoffs if no one gets a majority in the all-party 'jungle' primary. This change is what slew the previous ban on running for more than one office, which referenced party primaries that no longer exist.]

Fong could also already be in Congress by November. He is running in a special election next month against Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux to fill the remainder of McCarthy’s term, which ends in January 2025. A representative for Boudreaux’s campaign declined to comment.

[And to answer the question in the headline, he would resign from the Assembly [spurring a new special election] and take the DC gig.]