The Fresno Bee endorses Democratic opponent over GOP incumbent Devin Nunes

Over the last 16 years, The Fresno Bee has endorsed Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) in all of his elections, but that streak has ended.

This weekend, the newspaper's editorial board announced it is not recommending Nunes for California's 22nd Congressional District, but rather his Democratic opponent, deputy district attorney Andrew Janz. The 34-year-old "offers the best chance to both lead the district by attending to its issues and then striving for bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., which is the only answer to the poison of gridlock politics that is stifling debate and action at nearly all levels."

The Bee invited both men to interviews, but only Janz responded, RSVPing yes. Nunes not only ignores the newspaper, but also his constituents, the editorial board said, avoiding town hall meetings and alienating people who are working to develop a new source of water for local farms. District voters "have a chance to become a model for the nation," the editorial concludes. A vote for Janz is a vote for someone who will "help them with their needs, listen to their concerns and invite them into the process, and chart a bipartisan course that the nation must find if it is to meet the challenges of the future."

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With Nunes, voters are "stuck with the damaging partisanship he practices, the party-above-country mode that motivates him to protect President Trump from the investigation into Russian meddling more than meet his constitutional obligations as an independent arm of government." Read the entire op-ed at The Fresno Bee.