Democrat Randy Villegas unseats Republican David Valadao in California

Democrat Randy Villegas has defeated six-term Republican Rep. David Valadao in California’s 22nd congressional district, winning one of the state’s most competitive races after a campaign centered on healthcare, rising costs and immigration enforcement.

The Associated Press called the race Wednesday morning, The Guardian reported. Villegas, a community college professor, described the result as a “historic victory for the Central Valley” while addressing supporters in Bakersfield on Tuesday evening.

“That victory is not because of me. It is because of us,” he said, according to Al Jazeera. In a separate statement, he credited “hundreds of volunteers, tens of thousands of grassroots donors, and working families who believed we could build something better together.”

The district, which stretches from Bakersfield to just west of Fresno, has a majority-Latino population. Both candidates are Central Valley natives from immigrant families with working-class or agricultural ties. The Guardian described the seat as California’s only true toss-up after voters approved Proposition 50, which redrew the state’s congressional maps last year.

Healthcare was a central dividing line. Residents cited medical care and rising costs as leading concerns, The Guardian reported. According to the outlet, KFF data show the district has the second-highest rate and number of Medicaid enrollees of any congressional district. Villegas criticized Valadao for casting a decisive vote for last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut the federal health insurance program.

Villegas also campaigned against immigration raids. Al Jazeera reported that residents and officials said arrests of farmworkers and family members had shaken immigrant and Latino communities in the Central Valley. Villegas linked the raids to Valadao’s support for a large increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A United Farm Workers member who canvassed Latino communities for Villegas told Al Jazeera that some voters regretted supporting President Donald Trump in 2024.

The candidates took different approaches to campaign money. Villegas pledged not to accept corporate campaign donations and won endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and labor leader Dolores Huerta. Valadao had $1.7 million in cash on hand at the end of the race, according to federal finance reports cited by The Guardian. The outlet also reported that OpenSecrets found he had received more than twice as much money from political action committees as the average House candidate.

Before facing Valadao, Villegas defeated California Assembly member Jasmeet Bains in a hard-fought Democratic primary. Bains, whom Al Jazeera described as aligned with the party’s establishment wing, had warned that Villegas’s progressive positions were too far left for the traditionally conservative region.

The victory came as Democrats won control of both the House and Senate and flipped several California congressional seats, The Guardian reported. Villegas told supporters Tuesday: “We beat the Democratic establishment. We beat the Republican establishment. We beat corporate PAC money. We beat AIPAC!”

In a statement after the race was called, he offered a shorter assessment: “They say it takes a village, we know it takes a Valley.”