McNerney vs. Shoemaker: An unusual Democrat-vs.-Republican race in state Senate District 5

After a series of candidate switches late last year, March’s primary election set up the final race for California Senate District 5, with Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) facing off against Jim Shoemaker (R-Clements) to replace state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, who is terming out of office.

The Democrat-vs.-Republican election is somewhat unusual. Voters in District 5 — which includes Stockton and all of San Joaquin County — lean Democratic, and state Senate seats in the area have been held by Democrats for decades. Because California allows the top two vote-getters, regardless of political affiliation, to advance from the primary to the general election, it would have been reasonable to assume that San Joaquin County voters would be choosing between two Democrats in November.

But McNerney, a former U.S. representative for California’s 9th congressional district, split the primary’s Democratic vote with then-Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua, who initially had registered to run for reelection in the 13th Assembly District but switched places with his wife, Edith Villapudua, who had registered to run for Senate District 5, just before the December candidate filing deadline.

Now, McNerney, a longtime politician who served in Congress from 2007 to 2023, is facing Shoemaker, a San Joaquin County businessman with dealings in the building, construction and pool maintenance industries.

Although Shoemaker did not return messages requesting comment for this story, both he and McNerney have previously pitched their campaign priorities.

McNerney says that, if elected, he will prioritize renewable energy, affordable housing and water allocation.

“Our water infrastructure must work for all Californians, not just special interests in Southern California,” his website states, referring to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $20 billion dollar plan to refill the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta tunnel and pump more water to the south.

In an email to Stocktonia, McNerney said that he will advocate for “common-sense approaches” that prioritize water conservation, an efficiency of urban and agricultural water use as well as recycling.

“San Joaquin County has a 1 million acre-feet groundwater storage capacity that should be developed and used to store water in wet years,” he said.

Shoemaker shares a similar view of prioritizing the local water supply and preserving the agricultural sector in Northern California. He also has plans to implement a “working families first” policy, advocate for more parental involvement in children’s education and introduce tough-on-crime protocols against property criminals.

His website cites Proposition 47 as a reason for higher crime in the area. The proposition, which passed in 2014, allowed certain felonies, such as nonviolent drug and property crimes, to be reclassified as misdemeanors.

This election year, Californians are being asked to vote on Proposition 36, which will mandate treatment for some drug crimes and create new penalties for some theft and drug offenses. Property crimes also would again be sentenced as felonies instead of misdemeanors.

Shoemaker also vows to offer his constituents tax relief. He cites the 40-cent per gallon tax on gasoline in California as a prime reason the state has the most expensive gas prices in the country.

“Too many California families are living from paycheck to paycheck, while many are still coming up short,” his website states.

One of McNerney’s main goals for the region is to remove it from “bedroom community” status, where people live in one city but commute to work or school elsewhere, particularly to cities in the Bay Area.

“We need to kick-start more projects to enhance our region’s transit hubs,” he told the Independent.

McNerney supports the completion of the Valley Link rail system, which will connect over 105,000 Bay Area commuters from their homes in the northern San Joaquin Valley with “fast, frequent, zero-emission service,” according to the agency’s website.

Both candidates also believe in tackling the statewide homelessness crisis — but with different approaches. 

McNerney wants to focus on building affordable and multi-family communities.

“Tenants’ rights must be maintained,” he said by email. “I will prioritize initiatives that specifically benefit low-income families and vulnerable populations, ensuring they have access to safe and stable housing.”

He noted that housing security and homeownership aren’t possible for most working-class and young Californians, particularly in District 5.

“More affordable homes are needed, and that means expediting construction of new units by streamlining the permitting process with zoning reform and using new housing technology that will make construction less expensive,” he told Stocktonia. 

Shoemaker, meanwhile, wants to focus on mental health and drug rehabilitation services.

“We need to invest in mental health and drug rehabilitation services while enforcing laws on the books that will remove law-breaking homeless from our streets and parks,” he says.