Assembly leader Flora rejected by Central Valley GOP in favor of newcomer. Why?
Incumbent Republican Minority Leader Assemblymember Heath Flora, R-Ripon, has failed to secure the endorsement of his own party. Instead, underdog Jim Shoemaker secured endorsement from the Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Amador Republican parties within Assembly District 9.
Republican leaders cited Flora’s absence from the district as a major contributor to endorsing his opponent.
Prior to the Jan. 12 Stanislaus County’s Republican Central Committee endorsement of Shoemaker, Amador County endorsed him in a vote that came out of left field, said Stanislaus GOP Chairman Joel Campos.
“It was a surprise to us,” Campos said, adding that members from Amador and other counties came to support Shoemaker. “Seeing folks willing to make the drive on a Monday night to Modesto in support of Jim was pretty powerful.”
Flora registered his candidacy in Ripon, and Shoemaker lives in Lodi.
Assembly District 9 includes portions of Amador, Calaveras, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. Shoemaker has received endorsement from all local Republican parties in District 9 except for Sacramento and Calaveras, which have yet to vote.
Before the Modesto vote, members of the Stanislaus Central Committee received one-page flyers from Shoemaker’s supporters that showed Flora contributed little to his local party’s coffers and was instead funding Republican groups and candidates in Southern California and Sutter County.
Campos said the move was frustrating and more focus should be put on seats in contention for Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. “To see that he’s supporting committees not even in his district,” Campos said. “It was like a big ‘F you’ to us, it was just such a shock.”
Flora did not respond to a request for an interview about the committees’ complaints but did text a statement through a spokesperson. “I’ve been clear from day one that even though I’m proudly Republican, I represent all the people of the district, no matter what their political affiliations are,” Flora said.
“In California, voters get to decide on who our representatives are, and that’s the way it should be. I wasn’t endorsed in 2016 and Republican voters supported me in the primary and later the November general. Republican voters then supported me in the primary and general elections in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. I’ve worked hard to earn their votes, and look forward to having their support again in 2026.”
Shoemaker, whose campaign pockets are not as deep as Flora’s, has not donated campaign funds to the Stanislaus Central Committee or any others in the recent past. The 64 year-old has run for political office before, having mounted a bid for the Assembly in 2010 and the state Senate in 2024. Most recently, he was running for Congress against Josh Harder but dropped out to challenge Flora in early December. He did not file campaign finance reports for any money raised or spent during the latter half of 2025.
In July 2025, Flora was unanimously elected as minority leader for the Assembly, a role he still maintains despite what appears to be waning confidence from local Republican leaders.
Flora was previously under fire for collecting per-diem, living outside his district and having an affair with a lobbyist, as reported by The Sacramento Bee.
Flora, who attended Modesto Junior College, was not present at the January meeting where Shoemaker was endorsed. Participants commented that Flora has been largely absent from the district, especially over the past two years.
“We believe that he’ll be more physically present in the district,” Campos said of Shoemaker, who has been meeting with local leaders in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
Shoemaker said he believes Flora failed to get endorsements by his party in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Amador counties because of his lack of representation in the district for the last 10 years.
“A lot of people, from city council members to city managers, water districts and supervisors, all just go, ‘We call the office and we don’t get a return call,’” Shoemaker said.
He said his decision to switch from a congressional to an Assembly run was largely based on Proposition 50 redistricting and because he wants to represent the Central Valley and the foothills.
“I’ve been here for over 36 years, this is my home,” Shoemaker said. “Moving the district to Pittsburgh and Antioch was just not in my wheelhouse.”
An Instagram post from District 9 Democratic candidate Matthew Adams’ campaign noted the lack of endorsement, sharing a post from San Joaquin County-based political forum The Stockton View. “Turns out that missing votes, refusing to be seen in public, and overall not representing your community DOES have consequences. Tough break, Heath,” the post reads.
Shoemaker, who identifies as a more conservative candidate than Flora, has so far been unsuccessful in winning a general election.
“For folks, especially Republicans that are saying, ‘Just allow Heath Flora his last two years, his last term,’ to me that’s unacceptable.” Campos said.
The state-level Republican Party has not yet made a decision on an official endorsement, but Shoemaker said he expects to get it.
The Sacramento Bee Capitol Bureau’s Kate Wolffe contributed reporting.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Assembly leader Flora rejected by Central Valley GOP in favor of newcomer. Why?."
