19 Facts About Andy Vidak

James Andrew Vidak was born on November 13,1965 and is an American politician.

From 2013 to 2014, Andy Vidak represented the 16th Senate District; he then won a full term in the 14th Senate District.

Andy Vidak was first elected to the state Senate in a 2013 special election after the resignation of former state senator Michael Rubio, and was re-elected in 2014.

Andy Vidak sought re-election in 2018, but was defeated by Democrat Melissa Hurtado.

Andy Vidak returned to the San Joaquin Valley to work in the produce industry before opening his own cherry farm outside Hanford in 1997.

The popular vote margin between the two was 3,084, just barely higher than the same margin by which Andy Vidak lost to Jim Costa three years earlier.

Andy Vidak's win marked the first time since 1996 in which the winning state Senate candidate of a special election was not from the same party as the incumbent.

Andy Vidak ran for reelection, for his first full term, in November 2014.

Andy Vidak announced his third run for the seat, for his second full term, in March 2018.

Andy Vidak faced three Democratic challengers: Sanger city councilwoman Melissa Hurtado, Earlimart school board president Abigail Solis, and Ruben Macareno from Farmersville, who previously ran for California's 26th State Assembly district in 2016.

On September 11,2013, Andy Vidak asked for the Senate to vote on whether or not the people of California should be allowed to re-vote on the High-Speed Rail project due to a sharp increase in prices and costs of the project.

Andy Vidak has continued his efforts to delay, defund, or hold a re-vote on the project throughout his time in the Senate.

On October 16,2013, Andy Vidak joined fellow Senator Anthony Cannella of the 12th district in calling for an investigation into the California Employment Development Department after it ceased providing unemployment benefits to over 150,000 Californians and closed several offices in Turlock and Los Banos.

Andy Vidak wrote a letter to President Barack Obama asking for support, and was interviewed by Lou Dobbs on the Fox Business Network to further explain the crisis, its causes, and ways to solve it.

In October 2014, Andy Vidak was named the "Most Fascinating Person of 2014" by the Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Advanced Center for Eyecare.

Andy Vidak was named "Legislator of the Year" by the California Small Business Association and the California Small Business Roundtable.

In March 2016, Andy Vidak introduced Senate Bill 976, which sought to extend the one-year ban on lobbying by ex-lawmakers to two years, and possibly up to four years, in an effort to curtail the revolving door effect.

Later that same month, Andy Vidak was credited with saving a woman's life by directing traffic away from a sycamore tree with a breaking branch about half a mile from the Capitol, after he could hear the sound of the wood cracking.

In July 2017, Andy Vidak spoke out against AB 398, an extension of the state's efforts to combat climate change known as "cap-and-trade," which included such measures as tax hikes.