California’s top elections official said late Friday that Bakersfield is Republican

Vince Fong can’t appear on the ballot for a Central Valley congressional seat because he’s already running for office

regarding

election to the state Assembly, a decision the state legislature vowed to challenge in court.

When Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) announced his retirement earlier this month, Fong, 44, announced he would continue in his current job in the 32nd Assembly District and would not run for Congress. Days later, Fong changed his mind and filed paperwork to enter the race, prompting complaints from other candidates that he was trying to run for two positions at once.

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which they said was prohibited by state law.

Fong’s paperwork to run for Congress was “improperly filed,” Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber’s office said late Friday. The office said Fong “will not appear on the list of certified candidates for Congressional District 20 that our office will transmit to county election officials on December 28.”

Fong’s campaign released a statement vowing to “immediately” file a lawsuit and calling the secretary of state’s decision an “unprecedented interference in the candidate filing process.”

County elections offices have “full jurisdiction to qualify candidates for the ballot,” while the secretary of state “simply has a ministerial duty to certify the candidate lists and include ALL qualified candidates,” the campaign said.

Fong what sworn as a candidate for the Congressional race on Monday at the Kern County Elections Division office in Bakersfield.

“I will fight the Secretary of State’s misguided decision and do whatever it takes to give voters in our community a real choice in this election,” Fong said in a statement.

Fong, 44, is widely seen as the front-runner in the race for Congress and has already secured McCarthy’s support. Born and raised in Bakersfield, Fong began his career working for McCarthy’s predecessor, then-Rep. Bill Thomas then served as McCarthy’s district director for nearly a decade.

Fong was elected to the State Assembly in 2016, where he has largely focused on public safety, water and fiscal issues, generally avoiding culture wars that dominate some parts of the Republican Party. He carried bills that attempted to pause a tax on gasoline that funded road repairs and divert money away from high-speed rail, both of which were unsuccessful.

Fong has served as vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, a position he has used to advocate for conservative fiscal policies even as Republicans have little power to influence decisions in the Capitol.

Fong was the only candidate to run for the 32nd Assembly district seat. Last Friday was the filing deadline for the race.