On a scorching summer day in Fresno County, U.S. Rep. John Duarte (R-Modesto) stood in the shade of Axel Gomez's garden as he took the mound for his second term.

Duarte, Gomez's representative on the council, said he has partnered with housing organizations to bring more affordable housing to the area and help attract families. More households means a stronger tax base to support towns like Coalinga. Just two years ago, Coalinga nearly ran out of water after a drought severely curtailed its main water source, which is piped in from a federal reservoir 90 miles away. The city had to buy water on the open market at exorbitant rates to keep residents' taps running.

Mr. Gomez, a farm worker, spoke of Mr. Coalinga's housing needs and the responsibility of the police. He told Duarte that both his employer and his father's employer capped working hours to get around a state law that requires farms to pay workers overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a week. He said that he has set up a

“This is the first time that a member of Congress has come and taken an interest in the people,” said Gomez, 28.

A few minutes later, his mother, Patricia, came out of the house and joined the conversation. She shared a copy of her most recent electric bill, $1,270.96. If lawmakers can do something about lowering interest rates and lowering the prices of everything, she said, they'll get votes. Mr. Duarte did not give a clear answer, but said he was impressed by the way Mr. Duarte was walking and talking to voters.

“Pas dellante,” she said, giving a thumbs up. “We're moving forward,” Gomez translated.

“I want to do the job. I'm not a career politician. I'm not going to be here forever, but when I'm here, we're doing the job,” Duarte told them. told.

The conversation lasted nearly 30 minutes, but it was one of four conversations he had over an hour when he knocked on voters' doors in late August to make their case for voting.

Here in the 13th District, Mr. Duarte, 58, faces an uncertain path to re-election against his Democratic challenger, former state Rep. Adam Gray, 47. Both men have raised millions of dollars to boost their campaigns in one of several California races considered key to Republican success. It will likely maintain a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives beyond November.

In 2022, Mr. Duarte defeated Mr. Gray by just 564 votes. a recent polls The poll by California State University Long Beach, USC, and California State University Pomona shows Gray holding a two-point lead over Duarte, and the difference is small enough to be within the poll's margin of error. It turns out.

On October 25th, the two will be speaking at a debate hosted in Modesto. Maddy Institute.

Adam Gray pointed to a cattle ranch where a new medical education building will be built, thanks to funding he helped secure while serving in the California Legislature.

(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)

The district they are vying to represent is 67% Latino and has large swathes of Central Valley agriculture. It includes all of Merced County and portions of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties, including the cities of Merced, Los Banos, and Coalinga, and portions of Modesto and Turlock.

Duarte, a Central Valley native and fourth-generation farmer, plans to play the role of a moderate Republican who transcends party lines to represent the interests of his constituents. Unlike the azure-blue Congressional districts surrounding the Bay Area and Los Angeles, the Central Valley is often purple. it is the seat of the state maximum concentration Percentage of conservative Democratic voters. In the 13th Congressional District, approximately 42% of voters are registered as Democrats, compared to 29% who are registered as Republicans and 22% who are registered with no party affiliation.

Being a Republican in a Democratic-leaning district can be a delicate dance. Duarte has voted primarily along Republican lines during his freshman term, but has expressed more moderate views on abortion and immigration, two topics that galvanize the party's base.

In 2023, House Republicans forced passage of the bill. law to protect bordersIt enacts stricter restrictions on asylum eligibility, restarts construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, and allows employees to travel to the U.S. using the federal government's E-Verify system, among other provisions. It required companies to verify that they were legally eligible to work.

Duarte was one of only two House Republicans to vote against the bill. List your concerns About the E-Verify program. The bill ultimately failed to pass the Democratic-led Senate.

Mr. Duarte also broke a rift with Republican leaders and advocated for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a federal program that gives eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children the ability to: ” supports immigration reform that would create a path to citizenship for those who participate. You can legally live and work here through a renewable permit.

On the issue of abortion, Duarte describes himself as pro-abortion. but he said he opposes the rights of the federal government Instead, he supports leaving abortion policy up to each state. He joined House Republicans last year in sponsoring a bill that: threaten a health care provider Abortion rights advocates say doctors face prison terms for failing to resuscitate a baby born alive during an abortion attempt, an extremely rare occurrence. They claim the purpose was to discourage people from having abortions. The bill has not yet passed the Senate.

“Many of us grew up working hard in the valley. Many of us worked on farms as farm workers, farmers, or truck drivers,” said Democratic candidate Adam Gray in the 13th Congressional race. Talk about the ward.

(Paul Clodagh/For the Times)

Mr. Gray, an opponent, describes himself as a centrist who was instrumental in passing bipartisan legislation as a state lawmaker. He founded the Problem Solvers Caucus and was quick to hold both parties responsible for Congress's failure to do enough to help Americans.

Gray was born and raised in Merced and grew up working in his family's dairy and feed store. He makes a living working for a construction company and as an instructor teaching statehouse courses at the University of California, Merced.

Gray, who served in the state Legislature for 10 years, said he decided to run again after seeing the “total dysfunction, chaos and inability” of the Republican-led House of Representatives.

He said voters are concerned about the cost of living and housing and are dissatisfied with partisan politics. He said his work in the state Legislature speaks to his ability to get results, including securing $3 billion to build new water storage projects in the Central Valley and establishing a medical school at the University of California, Merced. Contributed to securing funding.

He has opposed his own party on water conservation issues and opposed various Democratic-led efforts to reduce the amount of state and federal water flowing to the San Joaquin Valley Irrigation District.

“Many of us grew up working hard in the valley. Many of us worked on farms as farmworkers, farmers or truck drivers,” he said.

And there are some staunch Republicans who appear ready to support Gray across party lines, just as Duarte won in districts where voters lean Democratic.

Sheriff Vern Warnke, one of Merced County's most well-known conservatives, said Gray would be a voice for law enforcement and the Merced County community because of his working relationship with Gray when he was in the Legislature. He said he was convinced.

“Yes, I'm a cowboy, a redneck, a right-wing conservative, a Republican, all of those things,” he said. “I went to the party, and I believe it would be a good fit for Adam to be there. He'll be a different voice in touch in Washington.”

Rep. John Duarte (R-Modesto) (left) speaks with rancher Matt Toste before a meeting at City Hall in Coalinga.

(Gary Kazanjian/For the Times)

In his campaign, Mr. Duarte emphasized his personal experience as a farmer who understands the burden of what many locals see as overreaching environmental regulations. In 2017, federal regulators Duarte fined $1.1 million He was charged with violating the Clean Water Act after clearing protected wetlands on property he owns in Tehama County to plant wheat. The case made him a hero among property rights activists.

During a visit to Coalinga in August, Duarte held a town hall to update voters on his actions in Congress and what more he hopes to accomplish. He spoke of working with local mayors to ensure towns have access to “abundant, reliable and affordable” surface water. He also said he wants to push for immigration reform, including amnesty for DACA recipients.

He railed against the ballooning costs of the high-speed rail project that runs through the Central Valley. And he talked about his success, securing $5 million to repave Mendota's roads.

When question time came, Coalinga City Councilman Nathan Vosburg addressed Duarte with concerns about Duarte's support for amnesty for illegal aliens and his vote against the Border Security Act. He said he was doing it.

Don't lawmakers agree that employers should face criminal penalties for hiring immigrants without legal status and that illegal immigration negatively impacts all families in the Central Valley? , Mr. Vosburg pressed.

Duarte explained that the amnesty he supports would be a path to citizenship unique to DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants who have worked in the United States for several years and have no criminal record.

“My district has an obligation to vote yes,” he said. “This is a battleground. If there is one, I'm going to take advantage of that. It means I can step into the middle of these issues.”

Vosburg, a Republican, was not satisfied. But he said he would reluctantly vote for Mr. Duarte. Because “You are the man we chose.''

Councilman Manny Ramirez agreed, saying his parents, both immigrants from Mexico, have not received a dime from the state. Ramirez, also a Republican, said he watched his parents be taken away by Border Patrol agents as a child and said he appreciated Duarte's support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Duarte won the vote, he said.

“It's not a question of Republican or Democrat,” Ramirez said of District 13 voters. “We know what's right and what's wrong.”