National Democrats have zeroed in on the 22nd Congressional District, a swing seat in the Central Valley, as a key part of their strategy to win back control of Congress.
Two Democrats are vying for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao, whose defeat is even more crucial in the wake of court decisions that blew up Democrats’ redistricting plans.
After saying they would not pick a side in the primary, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee stepped in recently with a last-minute endorsement of moderate state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains over progressive college professor Randy Villegas.
That triggered an angry reaction from local Democratic leaders.
“They lied to all of us,” said Christian Romo, chair of the Kern County Democratic Central Committee, who said staff at the DCCC had told him multiple times that their organization would not get involved in the primary absent a situation in which it appeared two Republican candidates would advance. Under California’s open primary, the two candidates with the most votes advance to the November election, regardless of party affiliation.
