Voters in California’s sprawling farm belt will fill a congressional seat Tuesday left vacant after Republican Rep. Devin Nunes resigned in the middle of his term to lead former President Donald Trump’s fledgling media company.
The special election in the Republican-leaning 22nd District has been largely ignored as national Democrats and Republicans fixate on midterm elections that will determine control of Congress in 2023.
The seat in the state’s Central Valley — sometimes called the nation’s salad bowl because of its agricultural production — is expected to stay in Republican hands.
Nunes’ unexpected departure in January created an unusual situation for his former constituents: the winner of the election will serve only months in Congress, and the district will vanish next year because of redrawn boundaries.
Mail-in voting started last month, and early returns point to a sparse turnout. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic dominating headlines, campaigns say voters they contact are sometimes surprised to find out an election is taking place, or are not aware that Nunes, a prominent Trump loyalist while in Congress, had resigned.
