California voters set to choose Kevin McCarthy's replacement and pad House GOP's slim majority

California voters are set to choose a replacement for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a special election Tuesday that will help pad the House GOP's slim majority.

The race in the Bakersfield-area 20th District between two Republicans, state Assemblyman Vince Fong and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, will determine who will serve the remainder of McCarty's term. He resigned in December two months after he was ousted as speaker.

Unlike in most states, California utilizes a top-two primary system where all candidates appear on the same primary ballot regardless of party. While one candidate can win a special election outright in the primary if they win a majority of the vote, neither Fong nor Boudreaux hit that mark back in March.

Fong won the most votes in that primary and is seen as the favorite, backed by both McCarthy and former President Donald Trump.

Washington Republicans will get a win no matter what, since filling the seat gives them a bit more flexibility in a narrowly divided Congress. Counting a GOP victory Tuesday, Republicans will have 218 members of Congress to the Democrats’ 213, with four vacancies. That gives House Speaker Mike Johnson a bit more cushion — in recent months, some conservative members of the party have threatened to sink key rules and pieces of legislation.

Voters will also head to the polls on Tuesday in four other states — Kentucky, Georgia, Idaho and Oregon — for primary elections, setting up matchups in key battlegrounds and settling intraparty feuds.

In Kentucky's 4th District, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie cruised to a primary victory over two challengers.

While Massie was the heavy favorite, he’s found himself locking horns with powerful Republicans in recent years. He joined the