Written by Nathaniel Mannor
With less than a year until the midterms, Republicans are optimistic as they plan to take back Congress from Democrat control. Though Democrats narrowly hold onto the house and Senate with slim majorities, we will still have to work hard and win over undecided voters. But some Republicans aren’t so eager about the future, notably one Congressman from the San Joaquin Valley.
On Monday, Devin Nunes, who represents California’s 22nd Congressional district and sits as the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, made a significant announcement that he plans to resign from Congress next January. Nunes stated that he intends to work for President Trump’s new media company, but there may be another reason why he’s giving up his seat.
As the California Independent Redistricting Commission redraws their maps for the state legislature and congressional districts, they have attempted to gerrymander Republicans out of their seats. The same is true of Devin Nunes, who enjoyed a majority Republican district and is now running in a D+5 area, giving Democrats control over his political future.
The dictator-in-chief Gavin Newsom has called a special election to fill his seat until 2022, and with the change in political alignment, state-level Democrats are vying for control. For example, State Senator Melissa Hurtado plans to run in light of the vacancy. Nunes’ 2020 opponent Phil Arballo planned to challenge Nunes again in 2022 but is now considering running in the special election. Assemblymember Devon Matthews, a Republican from the Central Valley, is also considering replacing Nunes. He put out a statement saying, “The lines are not drawn yet, my eyes are open.”
Right now, all we can do is wait for 2022 to see if we can overcome the Democrats’ attempt to gerrymander us out of office. Then, hopefully, the voters will see through this and recognize that we Republicans stand for freedom while the Democrats favor tyranny.
