RUDY SALAS FOR CONGRESS - CA 22
This week we will highlight CA 22, currently represented by Republican David Valadao who is being challenged by Democrat Rudy Salas
Geography: CA Congressional District 22 encompasses the south and eastern San Joaquin Valley. It includes parts of Bakersfield, Tulare, Hanford and Porterville. The San Joaquin Valley is a huge agricultural area and has some of the largest oil fields in the US. When you drive north on the 5, the descent from the grapevine lands you into the massive San Joaquin valley which has the unhealthiest air in CA if not the entire country. One in six children in the valley have Asthma, and in many rural areas water is so polluted that families require trucked in water. Farmworkers labor to deliver our fruits and vegetables, but big companies are in charge of most valley businesses
Demographics: The District is 73 % Latino and 16% White. Voter registration is 42% Democrat, 27% Republican and 22% No Party Preference.
Background: The Congressional district is a partisan Lean of D+5 suggesting a Democrat should be favored in that area. The district voted for Joe Biden in 2020 but voted against reelecting Gavin Newsom in 2022. How is this explained? The primary reason is voter turnout. Democrats won the House district in 2020 when TJ Cox took the seat in a presidential election year with higher voter turnout. In 2022 David Valadao regained his seat in Congress on low voter turnout. Valadao beat Rudy Salas, the current Dem candidate by just 3000 votes in that election. Which is why this race is considered a tossup by Cook Political Report. The race is also a Red to Blue Race, designated by the DCCC, to receive more resources.
2024 Race: Does Valadao vote to help his constituents? He voted against the Infrastructure Act which is bringing millions to the district for roads, dams, canals and water pipelines as well as money for upgraded irrigation and water systems. He also voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, Affordable Insulin Act and other bipartisan bills passed in President Biden’s first two years. Valadao is a steadfast opponent of women’s reproductive rights, including IVF procedures.
Valadao and other Republican elected officials in the San Joaquin Valley have long received financial support from Big Oil companies and Agribusiness which continue to support an agenda that hurts families in the Valley.
Rudy Salas is a dynamic 47-year-old who grew up working alongside his father as a farmworker. He graduated from UCLA, became the first Latino member of the Bakersfield City Council, and was elected for 5 terms to the CA State Assembly. As an Assemblyman, he succeeded in bringing more money to families in the Valley with emphasis on healthcare access, and reducing drug prices for Californians.
He fought for the $7.5 Billion state water bond that invested in water infrastructure.
Salas supports full reproductive rights for women.
Salas lost the 2022 House race to David Valadao by just 3000 votes.
Turnout is the key to this race and Rudy Salas can win this race.
As of March 31 (the last reporting date) Salas had $754K cash on hand.
Learn more or donate at rudysalas.com