A rematch is underway for California’s 8th Congressional District, as eight-term incumbent Democrat John Garamendi faces off against Republican Rudy Recile, a former U.S. Army Major and former Department of Agriculture employee.
The candidates are vying to represent residents in Contra Costa and Solano counties, including the cities of Vallejo, Fairfield, Richmond and parts of Martinez.
Garamendi, 79, has enjoyed a political career spanning nearly five decades, starting with his election to the California State Legislature in 1974. He went on to serve four terms in the state Senate, two non-consecutive terms as California’s insurance commissioner, and was appointed deputy secretary of the interior by President Bill Clinton in 1995.
Two years after being elected lieutenant governor in 2007, Garamendi won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he currently represents voters in Contra Costa and Solano counties. He has co-sponsored 66 bills signed into law, and has been a vocal advocate for strengthening environmental protections, affordable healthcare and American manufacturing.
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Arguably the biggest election hurdle for Garamendi, 79, arose in July, after he was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer and began chemo-immunotherapy in Sacramento. He did not respond to interview requests by this publication, but told the Times Herald that “experience counts.”
“The 15 years that I’ve been in Congress has given me the knowledge, the experience and the position to bring to my district the benefits of existing legislation and additional legislation that I will be able to promote,” Garamendi said.
Recile, 56, a Vallejo resident, faces an uphill battle for the historically blue district, where he unsuccessfully ran in 2022 after 76% of voters backed Garamendi. His success may be further jeopardized by his history of spreading disinformation — rhetoric mirrored by former President Donald Trump, who Recile said he is voting for in this election.
“I believe in (Trump’s) policies, and results he gave us when he was in office,” Recile said, despite admitting that he was initially “going to give (this news organization) a different answer.”
After reading the reasons why Trump was indicted on 88 criminal offenses and impeached twice, he said “a person should be able to make their own decision to determine whether that was bogus or it wasn’t.”
Recile rejected concerns about Trump’s ties to Project 2025, saying …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
