Andrew Grant, a Republican, is challenging Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. // Image courtesy Andrew Grant
Sentinel staff report–
Andrew Grant, the Folsom Republican seeking to take Democrat Ami Bera’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, will host a community town hall in Citrus Heights this Tuesday.
According to a news release from Grant’s campaign, the Sept. 25 event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Citrus Heights Community Center on Fountain Square Drive and will give voters “an opportunity to hear directly from Grant on his candidacy and his agenda for Congress.”
The race over California’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Citrus Heights and the eastern portion of Sacramento County, has been a hotly contested race ever since Bera first won election in 2012. Republicans are hopeful that Grant’s background in national security and business will help him succeed where others facing Bera have failed for the past three elections.
In 2014, Bera won re-election by just 1,500 votes, and in 2016, he beat challenger Scott Jones by less than 3%.
According to an online bio published on his campaign website, Grant served in combat as a Marine and has held past leadership positions in the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department, as well as previously serving as CEO of the Northern California World Trade Center in Sacramento and holding a prior executive position with the Raley’s supermarket chain.
Bera, a resident of Elk Grove, has a background in healthcare with a 20-year medical career. His website credits him for co-sponsoring the 2013 “No Budget No Pay Act,” a bi-partisan bill which prohibited payment to any member of congress if a budget was not passed on time.
Grant has challenged Bera to several debates, but so far none have taken place.
Want to share your thoughts on the 2018 elections? The Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor and guest opinion columns on local issues from Citrus Heights residents. Click here to submit one.
Andrew Grant, a Republican, is challenging Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. // Image courtesy Andrew Grant
Sentinel staff report– In case you didn’t know 2018 was an election year, you do now.
Last week, newly seated Citrus Heights Mayor Steve Miller kicked off the new year with an endorsement of Andrew Grant, a Republican seeking to take Democrat Ami Bera’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Andrew understands the needs of our residents and local businesses, he has strong national security experience and a passion to serve,” said Miller in an endorsement statement tweeted out by Grant last week. “As Mayor of Citrus Heights, I see Andrew as someone who will work closely with us and the entire Sacramento region. I am proud to endorse Andrew Grant’s candidacy for U.S. Congress, District 7.”
Excited to start off the election year with another endorsement from one of CA-07's great community leaders, Citrus Heights Mayor Steve Miller. Are you ready to join Team Grant? Sign up at https://t.co/drdrzZdGuXpic.twitter.com/wykKieArY7
According to an online bio published on his campaign website, Grant boasts an extensive record of national security and military experience, having served in combat as a Marine and holding past leadership positions in the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department. In the business sector, he served as CEO of the Northern California World Trade Center in Sacramento, and previously held an executive position with the Raley’s supermarket chain.
In addition to Miller’s endorsement, Grant has also earned the endorsements of former Congressman Doug Ose and Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, both of whom previously ran against Bera. Elk Grove Vice Mayor Steve Detrick and several other city council members in the region have also endorsed Grant’s campaign, including Citrus Heights Councilman Jeff Slowey.
The race over California’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Citrus Heights and the eastern portion of Sacramento County, has been a hotly contested race ever since Bera first won election in 2012. In 2014, his margin of victory to win re-election was just 1,500 votes.
In a series of tweets last month, Grant criticized Bera for several specific votes, titling his tweets: “Five Bera era votes that take District 7 in the wrong direction.” Grant took aim at Bera’s vote against a flood insurance reform bill (HR 2874), his vote against a bill that included a funding extension for the children’s healthcare program known as CHIP (HR 1370), Bera’s votes against the immigration-related “Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act” (HR 3697) and a Republican-led regulatory reform bill (HR 5), as well as Bera’s vote against the GOP tax bill.
Grant has also taken issue with his own party in several public statements, issuing a news release in November that criticized the GOP tax plan as having a “very serious flaw,” regarding the Senate’s initial proposal to eliminate state and local tax deductions entirely. The final version of the bill — which caps such deductions at $10,000 — appeared to have won him over, as he criticized Congressman Bera on Twitter for voting against “the historic Tax Reform bill, which keeps more $$ in worker’s pockets, helps California companies compete on the global market and returns $$ held by companies overseas.”
Grant, who voted for President Donald Trump, has praised some of the administration’s decisions, but said on Sept. 6, “I do not agree with the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind DACA.”
The 46-year-old Marine veteran currently lives in Folsom along with his wife and three children.
Others who have announced their candidacy for the District 7 race include Republican Yona Barash and Democrat Brad Westmoreland. During the upcoming California primary election on June 8, the top two vote-getters in the race will be decided and will then face off in the Nov. 6 general election.
Miller, who was selected last month to serve a one-year term as mayor of Citrus Heights, is also up for re-election this November, along with Vice Mayor Jeannie Bruins and Councilman Albert Fox.
Want to share your thoughts on the 2018 elections? The Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor and guest opinion columns on local issues from Citrus Heights residents. Click here to submit one.
