David Valadao (left) and Rudy Salas (right)
The race for California’s 22nd congressional district seat between Republican David Valadao of Hanford and Democrat Rudy Salas of Bakersfield was one of the most anticipated races in the country. In the end however, the results weren’t anywhere near as close as expected.
Valadao beat Salas handily, being reelected with 53 percent of the vote to Salas’ 47 percent. Valadao said his victory showed voters are dissatisfied with the state of the economy, putting the blame on president Joe Biden.
“The Biden economy has been really tough and I represent a very poor district. The high high fuel prices, high food prices, high housing prices, all of those things played a big role in this,’ said Valadao in a Zoom interview.
The 22nd congressional district takes in most of Kings County, and parts of Tulare and Kern counties. It relies heavily on agriculture which employs an industry that employes a large number of undocumented immigrants. During his campaign, president-elect Trump said he would carry out mass deportations. That promise has caused concern and consternation among many who live and work in Valadao’s district. But Valadao downplayed those concerns.
“The focus is on people that came here to commit crimes, and we know for a fact there were people coming across our border on a terrorist watch list, people that are connected to cartels, drug traffickers and human traffickers,” said Valadao.
First elected to congress in 2012, Valadao is one of ten Republican congressmen who voted to impeach Trump, The president-elect is known to extract reprisals on his political enemies or those he considere unloyal. Could the Hanford Republican be targeted by Trump? Said Valadao, “We’re going to have to work together and hopefully we’re both able to move on and do that and that is my expectation.”
Political observers however, cannot explain how a Republican has been able to hold on to a congressiona seat in a district that is heavily Latino and majority Democratic. Adding insult to injury, Salas also lost on his home turf in Kern County, where Valadao narrowly won by 50.51% to Salas’ 49.49%. Salas has not granted any interviews since election night.
He issued the following statement: “I respect the decision of the voters and our democratic process, and I want to express my gratitude to the thousands of Centra Valley families and supporters who joined us throughout this campaign….I extend my congratulations to Mr. Valadao and encourage all of us to continue to pray that our elected officials will have the wisdom and courage to do what’s right for America and Central Valley families.”
This is the second time Valadao has beaten Salas, they squared off in 2022, with Valadao besting Salas, 51.5% to 48.5%. The defeat for Salas may signal that it’s time for him to step aside and give someone else in his party the chance to represent the 22nd congressional district.
