Meet U.S. House Candidate
Randy Villegas
California 22
Challenger
Why This Race Matters
California is reliably Democratic in presidential elections. It has a trifecta in state government with Democrats controlling the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats currently hold 43 of California's 52 seats in the House and both US Senate seats.
Based on the redistricting plan approved by Californians in ‘26, Democrats could gain an additional five seats countering Republican gerrymandering efforts in other states enhanced by the Supreme Court’s roll-back of critical Voting Rights Act provisions. CA 22 is one of the newly drawn districts resulting from redistricting. These changes have shifted this seat from Solid R to one of the most closely contested in Congress
Flipping CA 22 is critical for Democrats to regain the majority in the House. Villegas will need to defeat Representative David Valadao who has distanced himself from Trump, including voting for his impeachment in ‘21. Valadao defeated Democrat Rudy Salas by 6.8% in ’24. He lost his congressional seat once in seven races for Congress. He is a formidable opponent for Villegas despite the impacts of redistricting.
The midterm election will test the theory that voters could flock to progressive, anti-establishment candidates like Vellegas even in places like CA 22 that have traditionally favored Republicans.
The race is currently rated Toss-up by the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Background + Experience
Villegas, son of Mexican immigrants, was born and raised in California. He has an AA from Bakersfield College and a BA from California State University, Bakersfield. He had a full fellowship at California State University, Santa Clara, where he completed his doctorate in politics. Villegas was the first member of his family to earn a college degree. Before entering politics, Villegas was a journalist at Kern Sol News and wrote for the Bakersfield Californian. He co-owns a family-run auto shop. Villegas teaches political science at the College of Sequoias in Visalia California. In 2025, the prestigious American Political Science Association awarded him its Community College Faculty Award. Villegas has served on the Visalia California Unified School District Board of Education since 2021.
On the Issues
The Villegas for Congress website provides extensive detail on his policy priorities. A summary of his critical issues includes:
- Cost of Living: bring prices down; protect social security; universal childcare and family leave; raise the minimum wage
- Health Care: Medicare for all; price caps; expand Medicaid to include dental and vision ·
- Jobs & the Economy: fight for oil and gas workers; end pointless tariffs; a fair tax system; break up monopolies and fight for small business; infrastructure jobs
- Immigration: fix our broken system; bring home deported veterans; address the root causes of immigration issues ·
- Housing: stop corporations from buying up homes; build affordable housing
- Fight Political Corruption: ban congressman from trading stocks and becoming lobbyists; stop billionaires from buying elections; congressional term limits
- Education & Training: universal higher education and trade schools; build more schools; invest in students, teachers and school staff ·
- Environment: protect communities from extreme weather; hold corporate polluters accountable; protect and expand public lands ·
- Foreign Policy: no more endless wars; invest tax dollars at home ·
- Artificial Intelligence: defend rights to data privacy; AI safety for all; protect families and workers
“It’s clear that voters are looking for change, and voters are looking for someone who’s actually going to represent the valley’s values and not somebody who’s going to continuously sell us out to corporate interests and to billionaire donors. This seat is not for sale.”