David Valadao, Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump, wins close California race
A Republican who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump survived a midterm challenge from a popular Democrat in a left-leaning California congressional district.
Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, had almost 52% of the votes with over 98% counted when the Associated Press projected he would win in California’s 22nd Congressional District.
“The Central Valley is my home, and I am once again humbled by the Central Valley’s support and faith in me,” Valadao said in a statement after the AP declared his victory.
The race between him and Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, was expected to be one of the closest in the country. Many independent analysts considered the election a toss-up after the new 22nd was formed through redistricting, the redrawing of legislative boundaries based on census data, through election night.
Salas conceded Tuesday, saying, “I pray Mr. Valadao will begin this new term by delivering real results for the working families of the Central Valley.”
Valadao, 45, joins a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. As of Tuesday night, Republicans were projected to claim 220 seats and Democrats were expected to take 212.
Three races had yet to be called as of Wednesday morning. In California’s 13th Congressional District, directly north of the 22nd, Republican farmer John Duarte led in a neck-and-neck race with Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced.
David Valadao
Of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Valadao is one of two returning to Congress.
A moderate Republican, he sits on the powerful House Appropriations committee, which controls spending, and on its subcommittees for agriculture and veterans’ affairs.
Valadao has prioritized issues in those fields and water access for the Central Valley since he joined Congress almost a decade ago.
The Hanford dairy farmer has worked closely with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, who might become the Speaker of the House if things go his way in January.
Valadao is no stranger to tough elections. He lost to Democrat T.J. Cox in 2018 by less than a point and regained the seat in 2020 by the same margin in a race too close to call for weeks. Cox now faces federal fraud charges, including an alleged illegal campaign contribution.
A close election
Salas, 45, has been a buzzed about congressional candidate for a while. He has represented the area in the Assembly for a decade. The moderate Democrat started in elected office as the first Latino member of his hometown Bakersfield city council.
If voters had picked him, Salas would have been the San Joaquin Valley’s first Latino House member.
The race in the 22nd, a stretch of San Joaquin Valley farmland from Hanford to Shafter, attracted relentless national media attention, ad buys and heavy spending from both parties.
Voters there would have backed President Joe Biden by 13 percentage points in the 2020 presidential election. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans.
While the projected “red wave” never materialized nationwide in the 2022 midterms, Valadao has swung Democratic votes in prior elections. Disdain for Democrats in Sacramento had some Valley voters favoring Republicans, according to interviews prior to the election. A culmination of historical voting trends indicated that Democrats might be at a disadvantage.
And, as California GOP consultant Matt Rexroad has said in many interviews with The Bee, Valadao is “the one guy” to “never, ever count out of a race.”
“He’s just able to do it,” Rexroad said last month. “Everything else goes to pot, David Valadao still pulls it out.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2022 at 7:05 PM with the headline "David Valadao, Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump, wins close California race."
