Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez has been grooming his political prospects behind the scenes in recent weeks but his hand was tipped in a recent text suggesting he will be running for Congress.
The Courier has since learned that Lopez is planning to announce his candidacy for the 13th Congressional seat in early April.
A Republican, Lopez was a political novice when he ran and was elected mayor in 2020. He was re-elected to a second four-year term last November.
Rep. Adam Gray, a Merced Democrat, has only been in Congress for three months but political consultants see his 13th CD seat as vulnerable given the seesaw nature of the past three elections.
With the district having a slight Democratic registration advantage, Gray defeated the one-term incumbent Rep. John Duarte by a margin of 187-vote in the tightest House race in the country. In 2022, Duarte beat Gray by a margin of 564 votes.
Duarte told the Courier that he’s not running again and will stand behind Lopez if he announces.
An automated text recently sent to Republicans in the 13th Congressional District appeared to be from Duarte. However, Duarte refused to “confirm or deny” he authored the text.
“I’m not going to be making a public statement,” a guarded Duarte told the Courier last week. “I don’t want to get ahead of Javier. I can tell you that I’m not going to run this next cycle. But if he does decided to run I’ll strongly be supporting him.”
The text read: “Hope you saw my email. Adam Gray is the most vulnerable Democrat in America. Trump won CA-13, Cook calls it a toss-up, and the GOP is all-in to flip it.
“I won’t run again, but Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez is the right candidate. He’s a conservative mayor, small business owner, and a football coach.
“Let’s get behind one candidate early – I’ll be in touch soon to connect you with Javier. – John Duarte”
The Courier reached out to Lopez who, instead of returning the call, directed his hired political consultant, Duane Dichiara of Axiom Strategies in Sacramento to answer.
“He’s looking at it and seriously considering it,” said Dichiara. “This is the most vulnerable Democrat held seat in America. Cook ranks it as a swing seat. He’s talking to people and kind of seeing what they think of it. He’ll take a few weeks to kind of make up his mind. I think he’s a strong candidate if he decides to run and I think the seat is incredibly vulnerable and that Adam Gray is incredibly vulnerable.”
Lopez has privately told some that he is announcing the first week of April.
Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra, who ran an unsuccessfully campaign for mayor against Lopez, said she will focus on serving Ceres and that “higher office pursuits can often draw attention away from the immediate concerns if our citizens and I believe it’s crucial to remain rooted in the local issues.”
Because Gray barely eked out a win during the Trump election, other Republican candidates from throughout the 13th Congressional District are likely to emerge.
