Adam C. Gray is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat who represented the 21st Assembly district, encompassing all of

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

and portions of

Stanislaus County , image_skyline = , image_caption = Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford , image_flag = , i ...

. He was a candidate in the 2022 election for

California's 13th congressional district California's 13th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Barbara Lee, a Democrat, has represented this district since January 2013. The 13th district no longer consists of the northwestern porti ...

, narrowly losing in the general election to Republican John Duarte.

Early life and education

Gray graduated from Golden Valley High School and then attended

Merced College Merced College is a public community college in Merced, California. History In 1961, the Merced High and Le Grand High School Districts petitioned the State Board of Education for permission to set an election to approve the establishment of a ...

before earning his bachelor's degree in political science from the

University of California at Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

Early career

Gray worked in the district office of Assemblymember

Dennis Cardoza Dennis Alan Cardoza (born March 31, 1959) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2012. The district took in a large swath of the Central Valley, from Stockton to Fresno. He is a member of the Democrati ...

. He was also a staffer for lawmakers

Herb Wesson Herman J. "Herb" Wesson Jr. (born November 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as a councilmember representing the 10th District for three terms between July 1, 2005 and December 14, 2020, and again on an appointed basis from March 22 ...

, Fabian Nunez, and

Jerome Horton Jerome Edgar Horton (born September 14, 1956) is an American accountant and politician who was the member of the California Board of Equalization from the 3rd district from October 5, 2009 to January 7, 2019. He previously served as a member of th ...

. Gray was also a member of the staff of state Senator Ron Calderon. In July 2013, Gray testified in the federal investigation involving corruption charges against Calderon.

Political career

State legislature

Gray was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2012, receiving 58.2% of the vote. In the 2014 primary election, Gray received 95.3% of the vote and was reelected in 2016 with 66.8% of the vote and again in 2018 with 71.3% of the vote. In 2020, he received 59.6% of the vote. He was on the Committee for Accountability and Administrative Review, the Agriculture Committee, the Revenue and Taxation Committee and the Select Committee on Health Care Access in Rural Communities. Gray was also a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management. He was chairman of the Governmental Organization Committee, but was stripped of his chairmanship in December 2020 due to a dispute over water rights. In July 2014, Gray supported Merced and Stanislaus counties as a potential site for

Tesla Motors Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles ( electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to gr ...

' multibillion-dollar "Giga-Factory".

U.S. House campaign

On January 18, 2022, Gray announced that he would be a candidate for

in the 2022 election for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

. He advanced from June 2022 primary and faced Republican farmer John Duarte in the November 2022 general election. He conceded the race on December 3, 2022, shortly after the race was called by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

. It was one of the last U.S. House races in the country to be decided.

Electoral history

2014

2016

2018

2020

References

External links

Adam Gray for Congress
campaign website {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Adam 21st-century American politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Merced, California University of California, Santa Barbara alumni 1977 births