Posted on 11/18/2025 1:23:53 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
WASHINGTON — Rep. Adam Gray was one of only six House Democrats — and the only one from California — who voted with Republicans in favor of a deal to end the government shutdown, and there was a calculated reason behind that decision.
Gray, a first-term Democrat from the Central Valley, is running for reelection in a majority Latino district that national Republicans are expected to heavily target as they defend their narrow House majority in next fall’s midterm elections. Last year, Gray won his seat by 187 votes, and although redistricting has since made the 13th District more favorable to Democrats, it remains highly competitive.
The Merced Democrat’s vote reflects the political reality of representing one of the nation’s few battleground districts. Gray is positioning himself as an independent-minded Democrat willing to buck leadership on politically divisive issues. The shutdown deal gave him a rare opportunity to put that in practice, even at the risk of frustrating members of his own party.
“I know it is not comfortable, and I know there’s people that are going to be mad at me,” Gray told The Times. “But I am not here to win an argument. I am here to actually help fix problems with people in my community, and I know I did the right thing.”
Democratic representatives and senators for weeks were steadfast in opposing a shutdown deal that did not include language to extend Obamacare tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year, and as a result, leave millions of Americans with higher healthcare costs.
In Gray’s district, more than half of residents rely on Medi-Cal or have coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, making them vulnerable to rising healthcare costs — a pocketbook issue that is likely to factor into an already competitive...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
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More than 50% are on the dole in this district...
“...although redistricting has since made the 13th District more favorable to Democrats, it remains highly competitive.”
Bullshit.
Gray won in 2024 in a district which was rated even or R+1 prior to California’s upcoming gerrymander. THAT is a competitive district.
His district will be D+10 in 2026, unless some judge throws out the Democrat gerrymander just like a couple of black-robed liberal pissants did to Republicans in Texas today.
D+10 is not competitive at all under any circumstances that don’t involve a “red wave” of 1994-esque proportions. And 2026 looks like it’s going to be a lot closer to 2018 than it is to 1994.
Gray is utterly safe now in a *general* election, whether the liberal media wishes to say so or not. The primary may be a different story, if he is perceived as being insufficiently hate-filled.
It’s supposed to be about constituents...I’m sure the shutdown upset many lives.
NOT AT ALL SURPRISED
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