Bakersfield, California: Randy Villegas Defeats David Valadao in the 22nd District

BAKERSFIELD, California. The Central Valley has a new member of Congress. Democrat Randy Villegas defeated Republican Representative David Valadao in California's 22nd Congressional District, a race the Associated Press called on Wednesday, Nov. 4. With 57 percent of the vote reported, Villegas had 66.4 percent to 33.6 percent for Valadao, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the AP call. The AP results table counted 54,337 votes for Villegas and 27,480 for Valadao with 57.04 percent of precincts reporting.

Local returns pointed the same way all night. KUZZ News in Bakersfield reported Villegas at 65 percent to 34 percent for Valadao across the district, and an even wider lead in Kern County, 67 percent to 32 percent. The closely watched race drew millions of dollars in campaign spending from across the country, KUZZ reported.

A district redrawn

The seat was one of the top pickup targets in the country, and it did not look the way it did when Valadao won it before. Democrats redrew California's map to carve out most of the state's nine Republican held seats, including Valadao's, in direct response to Republican efforts to create additional GOP seats in states like Texas, the Wall Street Journal reported. The district is agriculture heavy, and its lines have changed more than once since Valadao was first elected in 2012.

Villegas, a professor, ran against Valadao as a legislator beholden to corporate interests. Valadao, a farmer, cast himself as an experienced legislator and a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The end of a long run, for now

This is the second time voters have removed Valadao, and the second time may not be the last word. He lost his seat in 2018 to Democrat TJ Cox during that year's blue wave, then returned to Congress two years later by beating Cox in the rematch, the Wall Street Journal reported. Few members of the House have held a competitive Central Valley seat through that many flips.

The count is not finished. California counts ballots for days after election day, and with only about 57 percent of the expected vote counted when the race was called, the final numbers will move. The margin leaves little room for a different outcome: Villegas led by close to two to one in the district and by more than two to one in Kern County, the county Bakersfield calls home.

For Bakersfield and the southern San Joaquin Valley, the change is practical as well as political. The district's farms and small cities send their member to the Appropriations Committee fights over water, farm labor and federal spending, and that seat now changes hands and parties at the same time.