California Republican mayor enters race for Adam Gray’s congressional seat
Less than three weeks ago, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced U.S. Rep Adam Gray, D-Merced, was on their list of Congressional seats to target in the 2026 election. Now, a challenger has jumped into the race: Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez.
“I personally don’t feel like he’s doing a good job at the moment,” said Lopez, who was first elected mayor of the city, near Modesto, in 2020. He was re-elected in November.
Lopez, 42, said he has lived in Ceres since he was five years old and has had a “great time” leading the community, but he believes “there’s an opportunity for voices of the valley to be heard.” His parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico.
He said he has been a Republican since he was 18 years old.
He disagreed with Gray’s decision not to vote for a bill earlier this year to ban transgender people from competing in female sports through every level of school and college. It passed the House of Representatives.
Gray said he voted against the bill because it was overly broad and would rip funds away from school districts, The Sacramento Bee previously reported, not because he believes trans female athletes should be able to compete with cisgender women.
Lopez said he believed Gray voted for his party, not on principal. Lopez believes voters will support him because of his values.
If elected, he plans to support farmers and water storage, bring money for transportation projects back to the district and focus on fire prevention. He said he worked as a fire technician before running for mayor.
The election is more than a year and a half away, but the 13th U.S. Congressional District has been one of the closest and most consequential U.S. House races in recent years.
This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 4:55 AM.
