This Democrat gave Devin Nunes a close race. Now he’s going after Kevin McCarthy
The Fresno Democrat who gave Republican Rep. Devin Nunes a close race in 2018 now is turning his attention — and fundraising power — to helping a candidate challenge House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Andrew Janz’s first run for office in 2018 caught national attention when he raised $9 million for his challenge against Nunes, R-Tulare.
Janz, a Fresno County prosecutor, lost the race but built a following that let him launch a political action committee, the Voter Protection Project. It estimates it will raise $6 million by the end of the election cycle.
McCarthy, R-Bakersefield, is its first major target in California.
The Voter Protection Project bought five figures worth of newspaper and online ads as well as a billboard in the district, trying to communicate the message: “Kevin McCarthy has completely forgotten about and lost touch with the people he represents.”
“Just look at tax reform, which has hurt Californians, plus he’s one of the biggest enablers of Trump in Washington,” Janz said. “That fits with our mission, as Trump is telling his supporters to vote twice in North Carolina while opposing people’s right to vote by mail during the pandemic.”
McCarthy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Janz’s ultimate goal is to help Democrat Kim Mangone unseat McCarthy.
That’s unlikely in a district where Republicans hold a 10 percentage point edge over Democrats in voter registration.
Nonpartisan political analysts all say McCarthy is “safe” in his seat in 2020. He has served in Congress since 2006 and typically wins the district by 30 percentage points or greater, including a 27-point lead in 2018, when a blue wave swept out dozens of Republican members across the country.
But those were the exact circumstances Janz faced against Nunes, Janz said.
And though Nunes typically won his district by 30 points or more, Janz came within five points in 2018.
“I don’t think anyone in California knows more about running tough races in red districts than me. But that started a discussion on there being no safe seats in California,” Janz said. “This isn’t going to be the last thing that we do here, but we’re beginning a discussion on whether McCarthy is a safe seat or not.”
“Someone has to plant the flag,” said Janz, who ran unsuccessfully for Fresno mayor this year.
While it’s the first major ad buy for the PAC in California, Janz’s fundraising committee also has spent money to help an anonymous Twitter user known as Devin Nunes’ Cow fight a lawsuit filed by Nunes as well as other candidates in New York and Texas.
Nunes is suing the author of the account, another anonymous parody account and a Republican political consultant, saying they defamed him by publishing mocking tweets online. Nunes also Twitter in the lawsuit, but a judge has removed the social media as a defendant.
Janz hasn’t announced any buys against Nunes yet, but he hinted that Nunes might be a target before the 2020 election is over.
“We raised $6 million, and we’re going to spend $6 million this cycle,” Janz said. “We’re going all across the country.”
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
.jpg)