The Republican incumbent in California’s 22nd Congressional District has survived multiple Democratic attempts to unseat him, won back his seat after the 2018 blue wave, and remains one of the few House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump and still held on to office.Now Democrats are preparing another challenge in what is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country. It’s a crucial piece of House Democrats’ electoral puzzle that is their bid to net at least three seats and win the majority for the first time since losing it in the 2022 cycle.
But this time, they are betting on a different electoral formula in the Central Valley district, which includes a swath of Bakersfield, one of the agricultural region’s biggest cities with nearly 423,000 people. For years, Democrats recruited centrist “Valleycrat” candidates such as Rudy Salas and Jasmeet Bains, members of the state Assembly or former Sacramento lawmakers. Wagering that centrists with local roots could win over independents and crossover Republican voters in the Central Valley. That strategy repeatedly failed against Valadao despite significant Democratic investment.A different kind of Democrat
