Wiener, Gallagher, Gray lead in congressional races

By Madeline Shannon
The Center Square

As results poured in for several congressional races Tuesday night, incumbent U.S. Rep. Adam Gray, California Assemblymember James Gallagher and California state Sen. Scott Wiener are all leading the competition for highly sought-after seats in the U.S. House.

Gallagher, R-East Nicolaus and candidate for the Congressional District 1 seat, previously told The Center Square that he was close with the late U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican who represented District 1 until his death in January. Gallagher led the District 1 race with 47.1%, according to early unofficial primary election results from the Secretary of State’s Office at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Gallagher did not respond to The Center Square on Tuesday night to answer questions. However, he did release a statement on Facebook that LaMalfa was “loved and respected” by the constituents of District 1.

“I am humbled that the voters of the First District have placed their faith in me, in the same way, to be a voice and champion for our North State communities,” Gallagher said on social media. “This was only one vote, but it is perhaps the most important one. The communities and people of the North State are united through our history, our jobs, our farms and industries, and most importantly, by our values and roots that run deep into the land. Their confirmation and vote of confidence means everything to me.”

California state Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat, got 38.6% of the vote as of 11 p.m. on Tuesday night. That’s with 92.2% of precincts partially reporting election results. Gallagher and McGuire will likely face each other in the Nov. 3 general election, with each of the remaining candidates getting less than 15% of the vote.

“The hardworking folks who call the First District home are tired of the chaos, corruption and cruelty of the Trump administration – and they’re ready for representation that actually delivers,” McGuire said in a statement sent through his communications director. “Come this November, we will flip this seat and give the people what they deserve – a fighter who never folds, a leader who will deliver for rural California, and a representative who will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

In the race for outgoing U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s seat in Congressional District 11, Wiener, D-San Francisco, pulled ahead of the other candidates with 41.3% of the vote as of 11 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office. That’s with 96.9% of precincts partially reporting.

Wiener was ahead of San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, a Democrat who got endorsement of Pelosi, the former House speaker and a Democrat, in recent weeks. Chan garnered 28.6% of the vote. Democrat Saikat Chakrabarti, formerly a staffer for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, got 14.9% of the vote.

Wiener and Chan will apparently face each other on Nov. 3. Under California law, the primary’s two vote getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election.

Wiener did not answer calls from The Center Square on Tuesday night.

The District 13 race, in which U.S. Rep. Adam Gray, a Democrat, is running for reelection, also saw Democratic candidate Daniel Garibay Rodriguez, a behavioral health manager from Merced, run against Republican candidate Vin Kruttiventi, a business owner. Gray garnered 42.3% of the vote as of 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, against Republican candidate Kevin Lincoln III’s 28.2% of the vote. That’s with 99.5% of precincts partially reporting results.

Gray’s campaign staff did not answer a phone call from The Center Square on Tuesday night to answer questions. At this point, Gray and Lincoln appear to be destined to face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.

The race for the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, a position that oversees the state’s Department of Education, saw Chino Unified School Board Chair Sonja Shaw accumulate more support from voters than the other candidates in that race. Shaw got 24.6% of the vote, ahead of Richard Barrera, who got 19.6% as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday. No other candidate garnered more than 10% of the vote as of that time on Tuesday night. Those percentages remained the same as of 11 p.m. on Tuesday after 76.1% of precincts partially reported their results.

At this point, Shaw and Barrera are destined to square off on Nov. 3.