Valley voters have elected a new representative to the United States Congress.
She was born in Tulare.
In the race to fill Devin Nunes’ 22nd Congressional District seat, Tulare Republican Connie Conway leads Democrat Lourin Hubbard by 19 percent. The double-digit lead was enough for the Associated Press to call the race shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Nunes worked in Washington D.C. for nearly 20 years before leaving to run former President Donald Trump’s social media company.
Conway will remain in office until the end of her term on January 3, 2023. From 2000 to 2008, she was a member of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. From 2008 to 2014, she was a member of the California State Assembly representing Tulare County. Conway was elected Assembly Republican Leader in 2010.
Conway worked as an advertising representative for the Tulare Advance-Register in the past.
Conway dropped out of the race for California’s 16th Senate District seat in 2018 and ran unsuccessfully for the California Board of Equalization.
John Conway, her father, also served on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors from 1981 to 1991.
Trump appointed Conway as the USDA Farm Service Agency’s state executive director in California in 2019. According to a USDA press release, the position was in charge of implementing Trump Administration policies and managing the day-to-day operations of the state FSA office. Because the position was politically appointed, her tenure was brief after Trump lost his re-election bid in 2020.
Conway followed in the footsteps of Nunes, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the California State Director for the USDA’s Rural Development section. Nunes went on to be elected to the United States Congress in 2002.
