Clovis residents showed out Saturday afternoon for U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s new campaign office in Old Town Clovis.
Located inside Saddleback Village, right across from the Clovis Garage, the new campaign office stands as a gateway into the eyes of a new batch of voters for McCarthy following California’s new redistricting maps.
McCarthy represents the current California 23rd district, which covers most of the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley like Kern County and Tulare. But thanks to 2020 census data, he will now be running to represent the Clovis community in this year’s midterm election.
“A lot of this area is new to me,” McCarthy said. “I am listening to constituents, talking to them about their concerns, and looking for ways I can earn their vote and their support.”
A surplus of people gathered inside and outside the office showing their support for the congressmen. The large crowd was treated outside to free food sponsored by the campaign. It was McCarthy’s first time meeting and talking with Clovis constituents.
“This is beyond what I thought would be here,” McCarthy said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm.”
McCarthy took interviews with the chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Eulalio Gomez, and representatives from the media. Gomez welcomed McCarthy with open arms and believed McCarthy would bring Clovis values to Washington D.C.
“One thing about Congressman McCarthy is he’s pro-law enforcement, pro law and order, which as a retired Sheriff’s employee, I totally support,” Gomez said.
Gomez also mentioned COVID-19 mandates and the fight that has been ongoing by both Republicans and parents of the Clovis Unified School District. He hopes that he has for McCarthy to “take the gavel away from Nancy Pelosi.”
“We need to be energy independent and get gasoline prices down. We need to get inflation under control with the Democrats spending too much money creating it. We need to have our streets safe and secure,” McCarthy said.
Clovis City Council Member Vong Mouanoutoua calls the move to the Clovis office by McCarthy exciting and says that having someone in a high leadership position will allow Clovis residents to have more influence in decisions.
“What I always hope for is always an open line of communication. Should there be any federal issues, we can direct constituents here to this office and there’s staff here that can help,” Mouanoutoua said. “To have an office here in Clovis is definitely a benefit to residents here in this jurisdiction.”
Those in attendance at the event had nothing but positive reinforcement of the candidate. Many hope that this upcoming election can be the change Republicans need with the party aiming to control the majority of Congress. If elected and Republicans can gain control of Congress, McCarthy could potentially be the speaker of the house of representatives
“I’m going to be here to listen. We may not always agree,” McCarthy said. “We will be part of this community.”
The campaign office will remain open until Election Day and is currently looking for volunteers.
Marc Anthony Lopez and J.T. Gomez contributed to this story.