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JANZ FOR CONGRESS
Democrat Andrew Janz, center, seeks to unseat incumbent Devin Nunes in California's Contressionals District 22. |
EVEN THOUGH the polls show Rep. Devin Nunes ahead of his Democratic rival, Andrew Janz, the Republican lawmaker is running nervous.
For the first time, the eight-term conservative congressman representing a district dominated by Republicans, a rarity in blue-state California, he is facing an opponent who has even stanch Republicans questioning their political loyalties.
"He's made a decision he can pretty much do what he wants and ignore local concerns...if he just nationalizes this whole race," said Liz Mair, a Republican who runs the Swamp Accountability Project and is opposing Nunes as part of her organization's effort to protect Mueller's Russia investigation.
"He's made a decision he can pretty much do what he wants and ignore local concerns...if he just nationalizes this whole race," said Liz Mair, a Republican who runs the Swamp Accountability Project and is opposing Nunes as part of her organization's effort to protect Mueller's Russia investigation.
Recent polls suggest Nunes' lead has been considerably narrowed and show him ahead by as little as five to eight points. His challenger, Thai-American Janz, has never before run for office but has raised more than $8 million, a staggering amount for a political newcomer in a heavily Republican district.
Still, Nunes holds a fund-raising edge thanks to large contributions from outside of California. While Janz is not receiving any financial help from the Democratic National Party, he has received only about 28 percent of his support from outside his state, according to Open Secrets, Nunes has received more than half of the $11.6 million he's raised from outside California.
In the days before the Nov. 6 Midterm Elections, the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes elections across the U.S., downgraded the Valley district from “solid” Republican to “likely” Republican, giving more of a chance to Janz, reports the Fresno Bee. The “likely” rating means the congressional race “has the potential to become engaged,” but is still not considered competitive.
“This Central Valley race has attracted more dollars than any other in the country, yet is still one of the least competitive,” the report said in new ratings released Tuesday (Oct. 30).
In the days before the Nov. 6 Midterm Elections, the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes elections across the U.S., downgraded the Valley district from “solid” Republican to “likely” Republican, giving more of a chance to Janz, reports the Fresno Bee. The “likely” rating means the congressional race “has the potential to become engaged,” but is still not considered competitive.
“This Central Valley race has attracted more dollars than any other in the country, yet is still one of the least competitive,” the report said in new ratings released Tuesday (Oct. 30).
Nunes' controversial actions as chair of the House Intelligence Committee have generated harsh criticism that he is covering for the president and not conducting the panel's business in a bipartisan way.
He has not held a public town hall in years and is rarely seen in District 22 between campaigns every two years. Critics say it's difficult to get a meeting with him and his local offices are closed most of the week. This campaign year, Nunes stages invitation-only events and prefers to run a campaign from afar, using a massive amount of TV advertising and websites geared to tell his stilted version of the news.
California's District 22
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| Source: U.S. Censu |
His hometown newspaper, the Fresno Bee, which had endorsed him in past years, endorsed Janz when Nunes refused to meet with the newspaper's editorial board. In retaliation, taking a cue from Trump's attacks on the "fake media," Nunes mailed out a 40-page booklet, which probably cost a hefty sum, attacking the newspaper.
Rather than run on local issues, such as fixing agreements between the state and federal governments over water allocations, Nunes has chosen to play up national issues such as his role defending Trump against allegations of Russian campaign interference and stoking fear with this year's GOP boogeyman -- immigrants.
Rather than run on local issues, such as fixing agreements between the state and federal governments over water allocations, Nunes has chosen to play up national issues such as his role defending Trump against allegations of Russian campaign interference and stoking fear with this year's GOP boogeyman -- immigrants.
While the district has voted Republican in the last few presidential races, Janz hopes the Democrat's Blue Wave -- spurred by the women's vote and young people -- materializes enough to overcome the historically conservative district.
"The Russia issue is relevant insofar as it takes away the political capital that he has now in Washington to focus on what people care about here," Janz told NPR. Janz says he's the one who can give local representation to the district. "I think that this race is about taking back the Central Valley."
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SCREEN CAPTURE
A billboard in California's Congressional District 22, jabs at incumbent Devin Nunes' attacks of the Mueller probe. |
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