Who is Democrat Mike Barkley, challenger to Tom McClintock?

Mike Barkley has no consultants and no paid staff. He’s received $1,091 in campaign contributions. His centerpiece issue, as a Democrat running in a new congressional district drawn for a Republican, is a call for repealing the right to bear arms.

His strategy: Knocking on thousands of doors.

So far, he has about 36% of last Tuesday’s primary vote in the 5th Congressional District, while a seven-term incumbent, Rep. Tom McClintock, has 44%. Barkley will be the November challenger to the veteran Republican conservative.

“The party was out there for me, and I’m the guy who showed up,” said Barkley, explaining his surprisingly strong showing. “I did think Magsig would do better.” Nathan Magsig, a Republican Fresno County supervisor, was running a distant third in the 5th, which extends from the Fresno area to the Sacramento region.

So who is Barkley?

He’s 76 and lives in Manteca. He has a law degree. He has been an accounting manager at Sierra Pacific Insurance and a programmer-analyst at two other companies. He’s an Oakland native and served in the Navy from 1964 to 1967.

He lists membership in several Democratic and liberal groups, including Progressive Change Campaign Committee, American Civil Liberties Union, Modesto/Stanislaus NAACP and Planned Parenthood. He’s also active in the Modesto Peace/Life Center, which promotes “nonviolent solutions locally to societal and global issues.”

Barkley runs for Congress

He has run for Congress six times. In 2020, he sought the 10th District against Rep. Josh Harder, a Democrat, and finished fourth in the primary with 3.5% of the vote. He ran seventh in 2018 against Republican Rep. Jeff Denham. His best showings came in 2014 and 2016, when he received 14% each time against Denham.

On Tuesday, he was aided by being the only candidate listed as a Democrat and was endorsed by the California Democratic Party’ and California Labor Federation. There were four Republicans, who collectively won 60.5%, Freelance writer Steve Wozniak, who had no party preference, won 3.3%. The district was rated solid Republican by three independent House analysis groups.

Barkley’s chief issue is guns. He wants to repeal the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

“Owning a gun should be a privilege, not a right,” he said.

Passing any sort of gun restrictions in Congress has proven nearly…