Here in California’s heartland, where Democrats often lean conservative and proudly call themselves “Valleycrats,” the biennial congressional races often are decided more by incumbency, party voter registration, and personality than by where candidates stand on the issues.

But thanks to progressive Randy Villegas’ primary victory over conservative Democrat Jasmeet Bains, voters in Congressional District 22 have a real choice to make.

In my long career covering Valley politics, the policy gaps between incumbent Republican David Valadao and Villegas are the widest I’ve ever seen between two candidates with a legitimate chance of winning.

TV Debate Reveals Polar Opposites

Their recent debate in the KGET-17 News studios in downtown Bakersfield illuminated those differences.

Despite being the only remaining House Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Valadao is now in virtual lockstep with Trump’s policies and largely deflected Villegas’ criticism of Trump throughout the debate.

For example, while Valadao blamed America’s record-high gas and diesel prices on the Iran war — which he defended as necessary to prevent that country from building nuclear weapons — he also attributed soaring costs to a lack of oil production in the United States and, specifically, California. Produce more and prices will tumble, Valadao said, embracing Trump’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” fossil fuel mantra.

Villegas, a community college instructor and Visalia Unified School Board trustee, fingered the Iran War and Valadao for the pain Americans feel at the pump. The 31-year-old said that Valadao voted six times to back the war with Iran and added, “There is no evidence to support Iran being closer to a nuclear weapon than they previously were” amid record-breaking prices for gasoline and diesel.

Villegas also decried the war, saying there’s “no reason our tax dollars should be spent bombing schools and communities abroad when they should be spent building schools and communities here at home.”

Valadao, a 49-year-old dairy farmer, then tried to dismiss Villegas as the crazy candidate.

“Iranians want to see candidates like my opponent in Washington because they want to see chaos,” Valadao said.

ICE Raids

Valadao also largely defended Trump’s aggressive immigration raids, describing them as necessary because “sadly, a lot of (undocumented immigrants) have a criminal record.”

As Villegas sees it, ICE agents are “targeting food vendors and farm workers” in their sweeps.

Timing can sometimes make or break a campaign. This past week, ICE ramped up its aggressive roundup tactics throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Topping it off, Fresno police arrested an ICE agent from Texas early Friday morning after he allegedly assaulted a Fresno woman and her 72-year-old father at their Tower District home.

In a news release, Valadao acknowledged ICE’s increased presence in the Valley while trying to have it both ways.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement “informed my office that these operations are focused on individuals with active warrants and known criminal histories,” Valadao said. “I understand the concerns these operations have raised among families in our communities. Hardworking farmworkers who are simply going to work, providing for their families, and contributing to our agricultural economy should not have to live in fear.”

Fact check: Nearly 71% of people now in immigration detention centers don’t have criminal convictions, according to tracreports.org, an independent data-gathering and research group.

Comprehensive immigration reform is something both candidates agree on. Sadly, it’s not going to happen as long as Republicans and Democrats alike use the issue to raise campaign funding and score points with their voting bases.

Healthcare for All/Funding Israel

Valadao said universal health care would be nice, but there’s no way to fund it. Villegas showed his debate skills with an answer illuminating his positions on Israel’s war against Palestinians and his support for universal healthcare.

He called Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide” funded by American dollars and noted that Israel funds universal “healthcare and universal higher ed for all of its people.” The implication was clear: While the U.S. is cutting Medicaid, it is sending billions to Israel in military aid.

Meanwhile, the incumbent congressman said that he supports continued military aid to Israel, a policy that Villegas opposes. Valadao also said that joint U.S.-Israeli development of military weapons benefits American defense forces and the U.S. economy.

Villegas’ rebuttal?

The U.S. needs to stop funding “endless foreign wars” and invest those dollars in helping working Americans.

Meanwhile, Valadao voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is estimated to cut Medicaid by $911 billion over 10 years. Valadao defended that vote, saying he backed the law’s work requirements for able-bodied recipients and efforts to reduce healthcare fraud.

A Toss-Up Race

The highly respected Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up. Ironically, the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with House Republicans, boosted Villegas in the primary over Bains in the belief that he would be easier to defeat in November.

The 22nd District changed in late 2025 after passage of California’s Proposition 50, a response by state Democrats to Trump’s request that Republican states gerrymander their districts in a bid to retain control of the House this year.

The district still includes Bakersfield and remains majority Latino. But some Democratic-leaning areas in Fresno County were added, and Republican-leaning areas such as Hanford, Porterville, and Tulare were shifted out of the district.

The latest voter registration report shows that Democrats account for 42.07% of registered voters in the district, Republicans for 25.71%, and voters with no party preference for 24.13%.. While defeating Democrats in six of his seven previous House races, Valadao has attracted strong support from independent voters.