CA-25/26: Strickland Switches Races to McKeon’s District

Tony Strickland filed paperwork with the FEC to switch the district he's running for from the Ventura County CA-26 to the Antelope Valley/Simi Valley seat CA-25. Some people will view this as a big story, that Strickland will take on fellow Republican Buck McKeon. I doubt it. Strickland's spokesperson said that Strickland filed in the 25th District “to make his intentions clear should Chairman McKeon retire, he will run in that district.”

When he decided not to run in CA-26, it was logical that CA-25 was his goal. He'd raised a lot of money and wouldn't have gone through all that work if he didn't intend to run for congress in some district. He couldn't keep his campaign fund designated for CA-26, as that'd undercut Jeff Gorell. Changing the designation doesn't indicate he's running for CA-25 this cycle. It's more likely that he's planning on running when Buck McKeon retires, whether that's this cycle, next, or down the road. Now he can continue fundraising for that goal.

Edit: It appears that I'm right and Strickland is waiting for McKeon to retire.