{"id":478,"date":"2026-06-03T21:03:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=478"},"modified":"2026-06-03T21:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:03:55","slug":"calif-dems-want-to-flip-this-district-a-progressive-has-the-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=478","title":{"rendered":"Calif. Dems want to flip this district. A progressive has the edge."},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s a key California congressional district that national pundits have targeted as one that could flip from red to blue in the November general election. Now, there are signs that a progressive Democrat \u2014 against the national party\u2019s wishes \u2014 may be the one to take on a Republican incumbent.<\/p>

Read more Despite Calif. redistricting, rural voters stick with familiar names<\/a><\/p><\/div>

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This is in spite of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee\u2019s last-minute efforts to push for the moderate candidate in the suddenly up-for-grabs District 22 in the Central Valley.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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If his slight lead holds, Randy Villegas, a professor at the College of the Sequoias, will likely find himself in a race against incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

But Villegas, a progressive, wasn\u2019t the DCCC\u2019s first choice to take on Valadao.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Just weeks before Tuesday\u2019s primary, the DCCC endorsed physician and state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a moderate. The endorsement came after the DCCC, the official national campaign wing and House fundraising arm of the Democratic Party, initially said that it would not get involved with the District 22 primary.<\/p><\/div>

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The endorsement was a surprise, one that caused Villegas supporters to react strongly: \u201cThey lied to all of us,\u201d Christian Romo, the chairperson of the\u00a0Kern County Democratic Central Committee, told CalMatters in May.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Romo and other Democratic organizers in the district \u201cdenounced the DCCC\u2019s move to add Bains to their priority list of flippable districts,\u201d CalMatters reported.<\/p><\/div>

However, Villegas has powerful backers of his own. \u201cI am proud to endorse Randy Villegas because we need more working-class people in Congress who are not beholden to the corporations and special interests that have rigged our political system in favor of the billionaires,\u201d Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders\u00a0said in a statement. \u201cRandy is an educator and small business owner from a working class family who understands the struggles that so many millions of Americans are facing everyday.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

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The district has garnered national attention following last November\u2019s voter-approved redistricting of California under Proposition 50.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Some predicted this rise of the progressives: \u201cRepublican strategists say Democratic efforts to retake the House will be complicated by the rise of left-leaning candidates in key districts such as California\u2019s 22nd District and Colorado\u2019s 8th District, where progressive insurgents are threatening to topple more mainstream candidates favored by the Democratic Party establishment,\u201d the Hill reported last November.<\/p>

Read more Republican wins California district left empty by LaMalfa\u2019s sudden death<\/a><\/p><\/div>

The new district includes parts of Kings, Kern, Tulare, Madera and Fresno counties, and it also includes East Bakersfield; parts of\u00a0Tulare and Hanford; and all of the cities of Shafter, Porterville, Wasco, Delano, McFarland, Arvin, Lamont and Corcoran. The district also has more representation from both metropolitan and Hispanic voters.<\/p><\/div>

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On Tuesday night, Villegas hosted a watch party at La Movida nightclub near downtown Bakersfield.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cI\u2019m feeling incredibly proud of the campaign that we\u2019ve put together and run here in the Central Valley,\u201d he told members of the media after addressing the crowd gathered at the event. \u201cI think we\u2019ve shocked a lot of people across this country, I think we\u2019ve shocked a lot of people in power, and I think that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

Bains was also set to host a watch party in downtown Bakersfield, but she canceled it in response to the\u00a0bank hostage situation taking place nearby. A representative from Bains\u2019 office who was reached by SFGATE on Wednesday said that they couldn\u2019t comment on the election results.<\/p><\/div>

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