![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/US-NEWS-CALIFHOUSE-VALADAO-SIP.jpg\" "\\"Rep.")
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Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 2021. His votes could cost him re-election in 2026.<\/p>\n
Graeme Sloan<\/p>\n
Sipa USA via TNS<\/p>\n
Voters in California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District have sent Rep. David Valadao a message.<\/p>\n
With the final votes still to be counted, the incumbent Republican had slipped to 40.7% of a three-person primary election where two Democrats have so far split the remaining 59% of the votes. In November, Valadao will face Randy Villegas<\/a>, a college professor, Visalia school board trustee and the son of working class immigrants who grew up in his family\u2019s auto shop.<\/p>\n In a newly redrawn district thanks to Proposition 50, the voter-approved initiative that have largely redrawn congressional districts to help Democrats, Valadao will have to contend with voters who have a lot more in common with Villegas than a Republican whose voting record will be on the ballot.<\/p>\n This time, part of Fresno helps decide the election, including communities such as like Kerman, Caruthers and San Joaquin. Thousands of voters will be introduced to Valadao in this election, and they should know what he has done with the job.<\/p>\n According to The New York Times,<\/a> the 22nd District has the highest Medicaid enrollment of any Republican held district in the country. About two-thirds of its residents rely on Medi-Cal. In Tulare County, 23% of households depend on CalFresh.<\/a> These are the people who pick the food the rest of America eats, who staff our hospitals and schools and who keep the Valley running.<\/p>\n Last July, Valadao voted to cut their lifeline<\/a> and fund the agencies tearing their families apart, in the same bill.<\/p>\n The reconciliation bill, the so-called \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill Act,\u201d locked in roughly a trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts and the largest Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts<\/a> in the program\u2019s history. The Urban Institute estimates more than three million California families will lose some or all of their food benefits. State officials estimate two million Californians could lose their healthcare.<\/p>\n That same vote sent more than $170 billion to immigration enforcement<\/a>, the largest single expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including 10,000 new ICE officers, with no accountability attached. ICE enforcement has already killed at least two United States citizens<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n Valadao knew what was in the bill. In April 2025, he signed a letter with 11 other Republicans<\/a> warning that Medicaid cuts would devastate vulnerable populations and rural hospitals. Three months later, he voted \u201cyes\u201d anyway.<\/p>\n