Longtime Congressman Jerry McNerney who represent Stockton and Lathrop among other communities is calling it quits at the end of this term.
Since earning his seat in the 2006 midterm elections – unseating longtime Congressman and Republican powerbroker Richard Pombo in an upset victory – McNerney, who represents California’s 9th Congressional District, has been a fixture of the House Democratic caucus and successfully navigated one redistricting before the holding that seat for more than a decade.
In all, McNerney was elected eight times to Congress – three in the former 11th Congressional District and five in the redrawn 9th District – and made assisting local veterans receive the care that they deserve one of his banner issues. McNerney lobbied tirelessly to bring a VA Clinic to French Camp so that local veterans didn’t have to drive all the way to Palo Alto to receive medical care.
“I am very proud of the many accomplishments that my staff and I have achieved in Congress, including the creating of a major veterans health facility in San Joaquin County, providing outstanding help for constituents with federal agencies, and securing major investments in infrastructure and public safety, broadband, education, childcare, and health care access,” McNerney said in the statement announcing his desire to retire at the end of his term. “I have always fought tirelessly for those in need, and I will continue to do so.”
While the district that McNerney currently represents will shift slightly thanks to redistricting – and Democrats will lose two percentage points of registered voters – it is still believed to be a reliably Democratic district thanks to a 43 percent to 29 percent registration advantage.
And it’s going to attract one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars for the 2022 midterm elections.
Current 10th District Congressman Josh Harder of Turlock announced shortly after McNerney’s retirement news broke that he would throwing his hat in the ring to replace him – leaving his current district, which is expected to shift dramatically in terms of party registration.
While Harder’s win over longtime Congressman Jeff Denham was viewed as an upset, Democrats enjoyed a slight registration advantage and Harder’s local ties and moderate approach to local issues helped him defend a brutal challenge in the 2020 Presidential election.
But thanks to redistricting, the new California 13th – which includes a large portion of Harder’s current district – is completely redrawn and will stretch from Stanislaus down to Fresno County and up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Voters in the newly drawn district supported President Trump by a 12 percent margin in 2020.
The new 9th Congressional District will also feature another well-known local politician in current San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti, who announced in November that he would be seeking a seat in Congress. Patti is a longtime Stockton resident, and while he announced his intentions to run prior to the new maps being released, Stockton is firmly in the center of the new district.
The eastern portion of what is currently Harder’s district has been reworked into California’s 5th Congressional District – which will run from east of Sacramento down the Sierra Nevada mountains to just past Fresno. Current 4th District Representative Tom McClintock has announced his desire to run for that seat.
The new 9th District that Harder and Patti are running in includes all of San Joaquin County except Lathrop and the rural area south Manteca. That means whoever wins in the new 9th District will represent Stockton, Manteca, Tracy, Lodi, Mountain House, Escalon, and Ripon.
The new 13th District will have Lathrop as its northernmost point and will run as far south as Coalinga.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
