Who Impressed, Who Bailed at Forum for Nunes Seat Prospects – GV Wire

Four Republican hopefuls met in a forum Tuesday night, arguing for Devin Nunes’ replacement in Congress.

The candidates included two military veterans, a political veteran and one who was taking a second chance at politics.

Answering questions in front of about 150 attendees at Redeemer Lutheran Church in northwest Fresno, Michael Maher, Matt Stoll, Connie Conway and Elizabeth Heng mostly agreed on conservative positions and policies. The event was hosted by the Fresno County Republican Party.

Of the 12 questions posed by the moderator — Clovis councilman and county judge candidate Bob Whalen — an observer could truly tell there was a distinction between the four in one or two questions. Whalen filled in at the last minute for State Senator Shannon Grove, who missed the event due to illness.

The candidates all struck the same deal on key GOP issues — all praised former President Donald Trump; all support the construction of a wall on the southern border with Mexico; all are against mask and vaccine mandates; all are in favor of reducing taxes; all called for audits of the 2020 elections, etc.

All said they would fight for the Valley. Many times.

Nunes resigned from Congress on January 1 to lead Trump’s new media company. A primary election to fill the remainder of Nunes’ term will be held on April 5. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the first two will advance to the second round on June 7, regardless of party.

Former fighter pilot impresses

The buzz in the crowd after the event was generated by the performance of Stoll, a Visalia businessman and political newcomer who impressed with his charisma.

During his opening comments, Stoll engaged the audience with stories about his missions as a Navy combat pilot after 9/11.

“On my very first attack flight, I deployed weapons against military targets in southern Iraq,” Stoll said. He also told stories about providing relief after the earthquake in Indonesia.

Training at Lemoore NAS led him to life in the Central Valley, where he started a property management company and now operates Visalia Tree and Landscape.

“I submit to you today that we are in another Cold War, a superpower that has every intention of bringing us down,” Stoll said of China.

A longtime party activist told Politics 101 that Stoll has her backing. Another man, wearing a “Kevin McCarthy” hat, liked the way he spoke.

In perhaps the starkest contrast of candidates answering a question, Stoll was the only one to deviate from a strict anti-abortion stance.

“Personally, I would never end a life, ever. That’s my personal belief. But, I also don’t believe that we should inhibit someone based on circumstances we’ll never experience in order to be able to do what ‘he thinks he has to do,’” Stoll said.

Left to right: Fred Vanderhoof, Elizabeth Heng, Michael Maher, Corrin Rankin, Bob Whalen, Connie Conway, Matt Stoll. (GV Wire/David Taub)

Conway a pro, Maher a rookie

Like Stoll, Kingsburg’s Michael Maher (pronounced “Marr”) is a Navy veteran and political newcomer. He then worked for the FBI, then moved into construction and today operates an airline services company, OTN Aviation.

At times he seemed nervous, though his political views were generally in line with conservative orthodoxy.

He offered a more complex answer to a question about providing more water to farmers in the valley.

“There are several off-the-shelf solutions that can be used statewide to solve the water problem. We have 50-year-old infrastructure that was designed to support a totally different atmosphere and now we’re adding this brand new environmental regulation that takes away capacity. So it’s not just a one-size-fits-all solution,” Maher said.

When Whalen asked the contestants if they would drop out to back a frontrunner, Maher was the only one to admit he wasn’t a frontrunner.

Regardless of the outcome of the special election, Maher said he plans to run for the eventual seat in redesigned Congressional District 21 against Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.

Conway, who now lives in Tulare, represented the South Valley in the state Assembly from 2008 to 2014. She pushed her conservative credentials, saying she voted 100% against taxes, against crime , pro-life and pro-guns.

His campaign plan is to run only in special elections to continue Nunes’ work. She also hopes to raise others.

“I want to translate this to help other candidates. It’s really who I am, something I learned that has always been part of me to serve and help others. That’s what I’m running for — to respect the district, finish the job, and from that opportunity, help others — whether they’re school board members, hospital board members, a water board or congressional districts,” Conway said.

Fresno County GOP Chairman Fred Vanderhoof (left) chats with congressional candidate Nathan Magsig. Vanderhoof endorsed Magsig’s opponent, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove. (GV Wire/David Taub)

Heng pulls a Devin Nunes-like move

All of the contestants have said they want to continue in Devin Nunes’ footsteps. Perhaps Elizabeth Heng showed one of her traits the most.

Heng, who ran against Costa in 2018 and lost by 15 points, spoke about that campaign and his feuds with social media platforms. She founded The New Internet, a company developing a privacy-friendly web browser.

She spoke of her family’s background as refugees — “legal refugees,” she pointed out — from Cambodia. She has vowed to fight progressives in Congress.

After events like this, it is customary for candidates to mingle with the crowd and answer questions from the media. Heng stayed for a few photos and kibitzed with a few.

But Heng’s team told Politics 101 they would not be available to speak after the event – Heng appeared to be the only contestant to have a team with her. When Politics 101 asked Heng directly if she still wanted to speak, one of her staff tried to physically block this reporter.

He was as effective as the 49ers offensive line against the Rams in the fourth quarter last week. Heng gave a vague answer, basically a no.

And, just like Devin Nunes with the media, Heng headed out, calling it a night. She was the first candidate to leave.

Among the candidates, Heng has the most cash on hand with $36,635 (through Dec. 31, the latest reporting date). However, she is over $80,000 in debt. Nearly half of this sum is due to a data analysis company i360. Another $27,500 is owed in media placement fees to Arena LLC.

She was the only candidate of the four to file financial returns with the Federal Election Commission. Conway and Maher filed documents to raise funds, but did not report any numbers. Both entered the race after the deadline for filing financial statements. Stoll is not yet registered with the FEC.

Hope Heng’s staff will be paid. In 2018, Dynamic Marketing, Inc. sued Heng for failing to pay them for campaign work. The case was eventually settled out of court.

To one #Fresno, @cagop forum about to start. Connie Conway, Elizabeth Heng, Michael Maher and Matthew Stoll. For the seat vacated by #DevinNunes. Primary on April 5. pic.twitter.com/xatoAySeBd

— David Taub (@TaubGVWire) February 2, 2022

Look. GOP hosts congressional forum in Fresno

[Update 2/02/22: the original story indicated all candidates supported Donald Trump. While Elizabeth Heng praised Trump, she did not say she would outright support him.]