Valadao, Cox earn endorsements as District 21 bid comes down to the wire

Valadao picked up a pair of Lemoore City Council members as he battles against TJ Cox for his congressional seat. His endorsements also included law enforcement and county officials, city mayors and a plethora of councilmembers.

“Our local elected officials play a pivotal role in our communities and earning their support is something I am extremely proud of,” stated Valadao in a press release. Together, we will continue to work together to ensure our communities receive the resources and support they deserve from the federal government."

Cox, meantime, has rounded up several endorsements, including Corcoran Mayor Raymond Lerma and Jim Avalos, mayor of the City of Selma. Sanger’s mayor, Jose Villareal also signed up to support Cox. He also found time to visit Hanford and rally supporters on Saturday (Oct. 27).

“One of the reasons I’m supporting TJ is because he brings results to the Central Valley,” said Lerma, Corcoran’s mayor. “We need a strong politician who will stand up to Donald Trump on issues of immigration and his racist rhetoric. TJ’s opponent has aligned himself with Donald Trump and has turned his back on our communities.”

Cox joined State Assemblymember Rudy Salas, State Controller Betty Yee, and State Senate Candidate Melissa Hurtado as they met with a core group of local Democrats in Hanford on Saturday.

Cox pleaded with the local Democrats to take up the reins and visit the polls on Nov. 6. “We need to make sure everyone gets out to vote,” he told the crowd of about 50.

“Every vote matters,” pleaded Yee, whose election in 2014 was decided by a recount. “This has been a people power series of campaigns,” she said.

In addition to earning the endorsements of Lemoore’s Jeff Chedester and Dave Brown, both local councilmembers, Valadao picked up four of the five Kings County supervisors, including Joe Neves, Doug Verboon, Craig Pedersen, and Richard Fagundes.

Hanford councilmembers supporting Valadao include Mayor Dave Ayers, Sue Sorensen, Justin Mendes, Martin Devine, and Diane Sharp are all in Valadao’s camp as is Kings County Sheriff Dave Robinson and Kings County District Attorney, Keith Fagundes. Hanford Chief of Police Parker Sever is on board as is Reuben Shortnancy, Corcoran Chief of Police.