Congressional map shuffled again as McNerney retires, Harder announces run

WASHINGTON — The congressional election map in California got a shuffle Tuesday when longtime Rep. Jerry McNerney announced his retirement — prompting two-term Rep. Josh Harder to jump districts to run to replace him.

The paired announcements from the Central Valley Democrats settle a remaining tension out of the state’s recent redistricting process, in which Harder saw his swing seat carved up into new districts.

McNerney, who has represented Stockton in Congress since 2007, announced Tuesday that he would not run for re-election this year. Less than 15 minutes later, Harder, who has represented Stanislaus County since 2019, announced he would be switching his re-election run from the new 13th Congressional District to the new Ninth District.

McNerney’s retirement came as somewhat of a surprise, weeks after the new map was completed and most lawmakers had announced their intentions of where to run. He hinted that he would look to remain active in his district.

“I am very proud of the many accomplishments that my staff and I have achieved in Congress,” McNerney said in a statement. “I have always fought tirelessly for those in need, and I will continue to do so.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called McNerney a “devoted champion” in Northern California in a statement. She noted his work on clean energy and supporting veterans.

“On behalf of Congress and the country, we salute him for his legislative leadership,” Pelosi said.

Though McNerney’s base in Stockton remained in his congressional district, the new map that will take effect for the 2022 elections includes more of San Joaquin County, including parts of Harder’s old district like Tracy and Manteca. In his statement, Harder said his roots in that region were important in his decision to jump seats.

“More than 150 years ago, my great-great-grandpa joined a wagon train to California and settled in Manteca to start a peach farm and raise his family,” Harder said in a statement. “With Pam and my first child on the way, I’m excited to grow my own family and continue my public service in the same community he settled in all those years ago.”

In terms of partisan split, the two districts are nearly identical, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom winning 52% of the vote in each in 2018, and President Biden winning 56% in 2020. While McNerney has been comfortably re-elected for years in his Stockton seat, Harder had represented a swing seat and defeated an incumbent Republican, Jeff Denham, to win the seat in 2018.

California’s redistricting commission had struggled with line-drawing in the area, and ultimately took some of the northern San Joaquin County portions of Harder’s district and drew them in with Stockton, while taking eastern portions of Harder’s district near Modesto and drawing them with a heavily Republican eastern California seat.

Initially, Harder had announced he would run in the Central Valley seat that included parts of Stanislaus, Merced and Fresno counties, a heavily Latino district. But Tuesday’s move gives him a change to run in a more compact district with more centralized media markets, and one where he also has an existing base of support.

A Republican running in the Ninth District, San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti, released a statement on the news blaming Democrats for inflation and supply chain woes.

“It’s time to turn the page on the divisiveness of the past several years and bring new, positive change for our region,” Patti said. “Jerry McNerney, Josh Harder and Nancy Pelosi are all been part of that problem. It’s time for new voices and leadership in Congress.”

Harder’s switch also leaves an open race favoring Democrats in the 13th District, where several state legislators have been thought to be eyeing their options as redistricting or term limits have curtailed their options.

One, Assembly Member Adam Gray, D-Merced, announced his candidacy in the district later Tuesday.