Saying he doesn’t fit the mold of a typical suit-wearing politician but as “Valley as you get,” Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez announced his candidacy for Congress at a Saturday morning rally at the Doghouse Tap Room.
Before approximately 75 supporters, Lopez became the first Republican to announce he will try unseating Democrat Adam Gray in the 13th Congressional District. Republicans believe the seat is one of three vulnerable congressional seats in the Valley.
Gray won the November election over Republican incumbent John Duarte by a razor-thin margin of 164 votes.
Lopez introduced himself as the mayor of Ceres, a football coach and a small business owner, and said his “wasn’t an easy decision, but I know it’s the right one, because I believe in the future of this Valley. I believe in America and I know I can be a part of the solution to the challenges we’re facing today.
“Now I get it. I mean, I fit the mold of a typical politician. Maybe I don’t look like your average congressman. I’m a pretty good guy. I don’t necessarily love wearing suits and I definitely don’t speak in a polished political sound bite but I’m as Valley as it gets, and I’m running to fight for the people who live here.”
Joel Campos, chairman of the Stanislaus County Republican Party, introduced Lopez, saying “something big is starting today, and I’m so excited to be a part of that to be honest with you. This is big for Ceres, this is big for Stanislaus County, for the Central Valley and for the country especially in 2026 because we are gonna need Congressional District 13 to flip back to Republicans in 2026.”
Former Congressman John Duarte, who has endorsed Lopez, did not attend Saturday’s event.
Lopez said “folks in Washington and Sacramento stopped listening. They think they know better. They pass laws that hurt working families in small towns like ours. I believe real solutions don’t come from the top town. They come from the bottom up. They come from you. They come from our families, their churches, their businesses, and your neighborhoods. I’m ready for Congress to give normal Americans a voice again, because I know what people want, a country that pulls together again, a return to common sense.”
He recounted how his parents immigrated to the Valley from Mexico seeking a better life.
“That’s what America gave us, and that’s why I love this country with everything I’ve got. Now, look, I’m not some career politician. I didn’t grow up with all the connections. I went to college for a while and like a lot of people. I just wasn’t the right path for me. So I took a career in fire prevention. I worked hard and saved money, I eventually I took a lead and started my own business. I built it from the ground up. Later, my community asked me to step up and run for office. I first I laughed. Me, a politician? But I couldn’t shake the feeling that regular people needed a seat the table, so I threw my name in the ring. I knocked on doors. I ran a grassroots campaigns. I beat the establishment and then beat them again to win the re-election as well.”
Lopez chided the state’s one party control in Sacramento and “failed leadership in Washington for the last four years.
“Everyday Americans are getting crushed. Gas prices are up right through the roof. They opened our borders. Crime is on the incline. Our schools stopped teaching the basics for the students and respecting parents’ rights. We need to work together to fix all these problems that came from them, but it’s not going to be easy. Too many Republicans went along with it, and too many Democrats caused you, and nobody fixed it. So I’m stepping up. I’m running to fight back to get us back to normal. Normal means listening to our law enforcement not defunding them; supporting our small business owners, not burying them with red tape; giving parents a say in their kids’ education, not shutting them out; securing our border, not pretending it’s under control; making housing affordable again, not just talking about it.”
Lopez took swipes at Gray, referring to Gray as a “Sacramento politician who has been in office for years, voting for higher taxes, stricter regulations, and radical social policies that just don’t match our values here in the Central Valley.”
Lopez’s campaign consultant, Duane Dichiara of Axiom Strategies in Sacramento, said Republicans will be pouring money to win back the 13th, 9th and 21st congressional district seats in the Central Valley. Democrat Josh Harder occupies the 9th district while Democrat Jim Costa is in the 21st. President Trump won in all three districts and Dichiara said the numbers are “moving rapidly” toward Republican. He said the working class has been shifting away from the Democrat Party while solidly Democrat voters tend to be those with four-year degrees.
“If you attended some college or less but are not poverty stricken you tend to be Republican and it doesn’t matter what your race is,” said Dichiara. “Other than for blacks, race has nothing to do with it.”
Dichiara said while he hasn’t heard of any other GOP candidates planning to announce he isn’t afraid of a good primary fight as “steel sharpens steel.”
“You want to spar a little bit before you get in the ring for a serious match.”
He also expects millions of outside campaign dollars pouring in for both sides.
Dichiara said Gray tries to play a moderate Democrat “but he’s already voted to let boys play in girls’ sports, which is not very middle. He voted for a Democratic speaker and so everything that’s on the Democratic speaker’s agenda is Gray’s agenda.”
He also said Gray voted to approve the study that would lay the groundwork for reparations to descendants of black slaves.
