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Modesto Bee and Fresno Bee: “Duarte remains a loyal GOP lieutenant even though he has one California’s toughest congressional races…As much as Duarte will try to present himself as a moderate, his voting record shows support for hard-right views and leaders.
This morning, The Modesto Bee and Fresno Bee jointly released a resounding endorsement of Democrat Adam Gray to represent California’s 13th District over “loyal GOP lieutenant” Rep. John Duarte.
Without even a full term in Congress under his belt, Duarte has already managed to disappoint the Central Valley time and time again. Between “picking Republican leaders strongly aligned with Donald Trump, and backing House GOP culture-war bills,” the Editorial Boards explain to Central Valley readers that John Duarte “is not being a moderate leader for California’s 13th District.”
With a proven track record and 10 years of bipartisan Assembly work, Adam Gray is a moderate leader who can truly represent the 13th District’s values. Gray knows now is the “time to step up” and deal with “the dysfunction in D.C. and the lack of civility in the dialogue.”
The Editorial Boards said it best: “Gray is a thoughtful politician well suited for a district that votes neither red or blue, but purple.”
DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
“Central Valley families are tired of watching John Duarte be a rubber-stamp for extremist MAGA leaders and policies, and they know it’s time for a change. Adam Gray’s commonsense, no-nonsense, bipartisan style of governing represents the true values of the Central Valley — and that’s why he’s receiving this resounding seal of approval to unseat Duarte.”
The Modesto Bee: Fresno, Modesto voters face a replay election. Bee Editorial Boards offer their choice
The Fresno Bee and Modesto Bee Editorial Boards | February 8, 2024
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Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson came out against a hard-fought Senate proposal for border security, despite House GOP members’ year-long ranting over the “invasion” of immigrants into America.
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Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican who heads the House Judiciary Committee, has for the last year pushed unproven allegations to impeach President Biden.
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Yet both earned the backing of Rep. John Duarte, the first-term congressman from Modesto who represents California’s 13th District. The farm-belt seat ranges from Modesto on the north through Merced and Madera to Kerman and Coalinga in Fresno County on the south.
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The votes show how Duarte remains a loyal GOP lieutenant even though he has one California’s toughest congressional races and strives to portray himself as a moderate. Democrats have the voter registration edge in the district over Republicans, 42.3% to 28.5%.
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Duarte has to do that because his opponent, Democrat Adam Gray, lost by only 564 votes when they faced off in 2022. It was the nation’s second-closest congressional race, and the outcome took weeks to determine. It promises to be close again.
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In another GOP-aligned vote, Duarte backed the Parents Bill of Rights, a measure that would require teachers to notify parents when their child seeks to change gender identification. Schools that get federal funds would have to also get parental consent before allowing a child to change gender identity. Critics say such outing puts children at risk from parents angry over their gender choice.
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Picking Republican leaders strongly aligned with Donald Trump, and backing House GOP culture-war bills, is not being a moderate leader for California’s 13th District.
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Sixty-six percent of district’s residents are Latino; many of them are ag workers. The district is one of the poorest in the nation. Democrats are more willing to use the power of government to meet the needs of lower-income areas, and the residents of the 13th District will be better represented by Gray. The Editorial Boards of the Fresno and Modesto Bees endorse Gray in the March primary.
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He believes there is enough evidence of financial misdealing by Biden to justify an impeachment inquiry. Such “evidence” is mostly seen through his partisan perspective.
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And, in keeping with the GOP playbook, Duarte would tie any aid to Israel for its war in Gaza to “real border security.”
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When it comes to GOP leadership of the House of Representatives, “there is a level of chaos there injuring coherent policy making,” said Stephen Routh, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Stanislaus State University.
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“He (Duarte) is embedded in that,” said Routh, a political scientist.
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A Merced resident, Gray served in the Assembly for 10 years and was recognized as a moderate Democrat who would buck his party’s leadership when needed to put his constituents’ interests first. Gray has been out of office since 2022.
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In a debate two years ago, then-candidate Duarte asked Gray what he had accomplished. The Democrat had a ready answer: Securing millions for the Volt Institute to give young people job training so they could earn a decent wage; helping a homeless shelter in Merced County; landing $100 million to build Campus Parkway linking UC Merced to Highway 99; and defending school funding.
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Gray was also instrumental in establishing a medical school at UC Merced, providing funding for law enforcement and defending Valley water rights.
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Gray told the Editorial Board that the southern border can be secured while young people brought into America by immigrant parents are given a pathway to citizenship. “Targeted amnesty makes sense. (Republican President Ronald) Reagan understood this,” he said.
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What America needs most, Gray said, is a return to bipartisanship. “Watching the dysfunction in D.C. and the lack of civility in the dialogue, it made me think that folks like me with successful careers of working with both sides, it was time to step up.”
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As much as Duarte will try to present himself as a moderate, his voting record shows support for hard-right views and leaders. The danger of authoritarianism by the Republican party only grows if Donald Trump wins to the presidency.
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Duarte also has the distinction of being part of the majority party in the House that has accomplished little. Some critics call it the “new do-nothing Congress.”
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Gray is a thoughtful politician well suited for a district that votes neither red or blue, but purple. The Editorial Boards of the Fresno and Modesto Bees recommend Gray for congressional District 13.
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