In 25 minutes, viewers can learn what Democratic Rep. Adam Gray thinks about ICE detentions in the Valley, high-speed rail in Merced, suffering in Palestine and Israel, and the war in Iran.
They can’t learn what 13th Congressional District challenger Kevin Lincoln thinks because the Republican did not respond to multiple invitations to debate the incumbent. The two haven’t squared off even once in a public venue, Gray said, because his opponent won’t.
So this video, sponsored by The Modesto and Merced Focus newsrooms, represents a brief interview with Gray, who is finishing his first term in the U.S. House after 10 years of representing Merced and Stanislaus counties in the California Legislature.
Gray’s 187-vote victory over then-incumbent Rep. John Duarte two years ago took a month to verify and was the closest in the nation. That came two years after Duarte’s win over Gray had a margin of only 564 votes.
The battle for the 13th District remains one of the most-watched anywhere, although Proposition 50 last year did tilt voter registration a bit to the left.
Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact him at garth@themodestofocus.org.