California sets a special election for US House seat left vacant by exit of former Speaker McCarthy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday set a mid-March special election date to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The solidly Republican district is anchored in Bakersfield, which cuts through parts of several counties in the state's interior farm belt. The seat is expected to stay in GOP hands.

McCarthy announced in early December that he would step down, two months after his historic ouster as House speaker. The announcement capped a stunning end to a House career for the onetime deli counter owner, who ascended through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency, until a cluster of hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October.