This newly drawn San Joaquin Valley district would have voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 by a margin of 11%.
But Biden’s sagging job-approval rating and issues from inflation to mass shootings could make the 13th Congressional District Republicans’ easiest pickup in California’s 2022 elections for the United States House of Representatives.
The Hispanic-majority voting-age district that holds Merced County and parts of Modesto and Turlock was formed through redistricting, the once-a-decade redrawing of legislative boundaries based on new census data. And while the race there is one of several in California that leans Democratic — meaning the party has a small edge — analysts say Republicans have reason to believe they can win.