California’s 22nd Congressional District, which stretches from eastern Fresno into some of the state’s biggest farming communities, became vacant in January when Nunes resigned to take over the Trump Media & Technology Group. As the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes became a national figure in his party, and a target for Democrats, raising $12.7 million for his 2018 reelection and $26.8 million ahead of his 2020 win.
The candidates running to replace Nunes, in both parties, have raised a fraction of that, and both Republican and Democratic committees have largely ignored the race. While the district shifted left during Trump’s presidency, giving the ex-president just 52 percent of the vote in 2020 and 2016, it was pulled apart by the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission, whose adjusted borders will take effect in regular June primaries and the November election.