Democrat Randy Villegas, a community college professor with notable progressive endorsements, has won the race for California’s 22nd congressional district in an contest that shaped up to be one of the toughest political battles in the state.
He unseated the six-term, incumbent Republican congressman, David Valadao, in a district that was considered the only true toss-up across the state of California after being redrawn under Proposition 50, a voter-approved ballot initiative that remade the state’s voting maps last year.
Villegas called it a victory for “hundreds of volunteers, tens of thousands of grassroots donors, and working families who believed we could build something better together”.
“With today’s election results, the Central Valley proved what’s possible when working people come together and refuse to let billionaires, Washington, and special interests decide our future,” Villegas said in a statement on Tuesday night. “The people of the Valley made their voices heard loud and clear: the Central Valley is not for sale.”
The Associated Press called the race of Villegas on Wednesday morning.
Valadao and Villegas are both Central valley natives from immigrant families with working class or agricultural ties, roots that reflect many of the constituents in California’s 22nd district, a majority-Latino district that stretches from Bakersfield to just west of Fresno.
But similarities between the two seemingly end there. They took starkly different approaches to winning in what is one of the country’s poorest congressional districts, and was, this year, home to the state’s most competitive election.
Residents said healthcare and rising costs were top of mind. The district has the second-highest rate and number of Medicaid enrollees of any congressional district, per KFF. The impact constituents are feeling from cuts to the federal health insurance program, passed last year via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was one of Villegas’s main talking points against Valadao, who cast one of the bill’s decisive votes.
Corporate financing was another big factor in this election. Valadao ended with $1.7m in cash on hand, per federal finance reports. OpenSecrets reported he has received over twice as much money from Pacs than the average House candidate.
Villegas, on the other hand, vowed not to take corporate campaign donations, running a platform that repeatedly emphasized the power of the working class. That earned him the endorsement of leading progressive figures including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Dolores Huerta.
His victory comes amid a historic night of wins for Democrats across the US, including in longtime Republican strongholds. Democrats took control of both the House and Senate as a larger than expected blue wave resulted in significant losses for Donald Trump and his party. Democrats also flipped several congressional seats in California with help from Proposition 50.
In a statement after the race was officially called, Villegas said: “They say it takes a village, we know it takes a Valley.”
