David Valadao vs. Rudy Salas in California Congress tossup: Candidates answer key questions
One of the nation's most competitive House of Representatives races is a November rematch between Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, and former Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield.
Nonpartisan election analysts say that the 2024 race between Valadao and Salas is a tossup, meaning it could go either way in November.
California's 22nd Congressional District, which includes most of Kings County and parts of Tulare and Kern counties, has more registered Democrats than Republicans. Voters there would have picked President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump by 13 percentage points in the 2020 election.
This Latino-majority voting district tends to have very low turnout, leading older, white, conservative voters to have a disproportionate impact on elections there.
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Valadao began his House career in 2013. He lost his seat in 2018 before winning it back in 2020. In the 2022 election, Salas, who had been in the California State Assembly for a decade, came within 3 percentage points of beating Valadao.
This district is one of several across the country that Democrats are hoping to flip to gain the House majority in 2025. So is the neighboring 13th Congressional District, where Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, and former Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, are also in a tossup rematch .
Currently, there are 220 Republicans, 211 Democrats and four vacancies in the House. Three of those empty seats were held by Democrats, one by a Republican. The number for control of the chamber is 218, meaning Democrats need to flip four seats nationwide to win control of the House.
The Bee asked Valadao and Salas to fill out a survey. Their responses were checked and slightly edited for spelling and grammar.
David Valadao
Political party:
Age:
Birthplace:
Residence:
Occupation: U.S. Representative, dairy farmer
Education: College of the Sequoias (attended); Hanford High School
Offices held: U.S. Representative (2013-2018, 2021-present); California State Assemblyman (2010-2012)
Campaign website address: valadaoforcongress.com
Q. What steps will you urge to improve cost of living and quality of life for people?
Central Valley families are struggling to make ends meet thanks to policies from the Biden-Harris administration and the Democratic supermajority in Sacramento.
I support pro-growth policies that will ease the tax burden on middle-class Valley families, increase domestic energy production to reduce gas prices and utility bills, and make it easier to build new housing.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
As the son of immigrants, immigration and border policy is a topic that is deeply personal to me.
Our border under the Biden-Harris administration is a humanitarian and national security crisis. We must resume construction of physical barriers, deploy new technologies to catch gotaways (immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally and evaded Border Patrol), reform our asylum process so it is not abused, and ensure border patrol agents have the staffing and resources they need to deal with this unprecedented influx.
I continue to support reforming the H-2A visa program to support year-round labor, as well as creating a pathway to citizenship for our DREAMers.
Q. Other than cost of living, immigration and the border, what is one of the greatest issues Californians are facing and what tangible measures do you propose Congress take to address it?
Reliable access to clean water for communities and farmers. I've introduced the WATER for California Act and will continue to push for reliable water access for farms and rural communities. The WATER for California Act would codify the 2019 Biological Opinions, provide eligibility for funding for the Shasta Enlargement Project, and reauthorize the successful surface water storage project program from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act.
I've also introduced legislation that would give rural communities that rely on groundwater the resources they need to remove nitrates, arsenic, and other chemicals from their water supply.
Rudy Salas
Political party:
Age:
Birthplace:
Residence:
Occupation: College teacher
Education: University of California, Los Angeles (Bachelor's degree in political science and history)
Offices held: California State Assemblyman (2013-2023); Bakersfield City Council Member (2010-2012)
Campaign website address: rudysalas.com
Q. What steps will you urge to improve cost of living and quality of life for people?
I have a proven track record in the State Capitol of standing up and delivering for everyday Americans. I was proud to be the ONLY Assembly Democrat to vote NO on raising the gas tax and was proud to vote to help lower prescription medication costs.
In Congress, I'll fight to deliver an expanded child tax credit to help working parents, champion a first time home buyer tax credit to make housing more affordable, work to make lifesaving medicines more affordable, and ramp up domestic energy production to drive down the costs.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
Our current immigration system is not working. In Congress, I'll take action to fix this broken system. I'll stand up for DREAMers and work to establish a pathway to citizenship for law-abiding folks who are living in the shadows.
I'll work to hire more immigration judges and add capacity for us to process immigration requests more quickly. We cannot reasonably expect people to wait years, and in some cases decades, for a response to their application for residency or asylum.
Q. Other than cost of living, immigration and the border, what is one of the greatest issues Californians are facing and what tangible measures do you propose Congress take to address it?
Central Valley families need a congressman who will fight to ensure they have access to clean, safe, and affordable drinking water. In the Legislature, we passed a water bond to upgrade our water infrastructure, and delivered funding to rebuild failed water wells. Meanwhile, the incumbent congressman voted NO on legislation to invest in upgrading Central Valley water infrastructure.
In Congress, I'll fight to upgrade our pipes, water storage, and wells to ensure families and farmers have the water they need.
