Kevin McCarthy couldn’t bend unruly Republican lawmakers to his will in Washington. Back home in Bakersfield, Republican voters may reject his succession plan.
The ousted House speaker’s abrupt retirement launched a fierce fight for one of California’s few reliably red seats. Where it once seemed McCarthy could anoint a successor, his preferred candidate — Assemblymember Vince Fong — is battling two other viable Republicans in a test of conservative voters’ mood and attitude toward their party’s old guard.
As Fong and his rivals sprint to the March 5 primary to replace McCarthy, they are navigating the same forces that sealed his swift demise : an anti-establishment fervor in the party fed by the commanding influence of former President Donald Trump. If McCarthy’s hand-picked successor falters on his home turf, it would be another rejection of the status quo.
“There is that historic and continuing effort to topple the folks who have been on top for a while,” said Tim Rosales, a Republican consultant who’s not involved in the race.