District: CA-22
Cook Political Ranking: Toss Up
Performance Voter Index: D+1
V4P PAC endorsed candidate. Randy Villegas is an educator and activist who is running for Congress to be the voice that fights for working families in the Central Valley. Villegas is the proud son of immigrants, and he was born and raised in Kern county. Growing up in a working-class family, he experienced firsthand the challenges that many families in the Central Valley face. Villegas became the first in his family to earn a Ph.D., and he’s used his education to empower others as a college professor, mentor, and community organizer. Villegas currently teaches Political Science at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. He also serves as a school board trustee on the Visalia Unified School District Board, a position he was first appointed to in 2021. Villegas is running for the U.S. House in California because he believes that the government should work for everyone, not just the powerful few.

California’s 22nd Congressional District is based in the Central Valley and includes parts of the cities of Bakersfield and Hanford. It is made up of parts of Kings, Tulare, and Kern counties. Ahead of the 2026 race, this district was redrawn after Proposition 50 passed in November. This measure allowed California to redraw its congressional maps in the middle of the decade, a response from Gov. Gavin Newsom to the Texas redistricting effort launched in 2025. After Prop 50 passed the partisan voter index for this district shifted from R+1, to D+1. This district is very working-class and is predominantly Latino, with nearly 70% of the district identifying as such. CA-22 also has the most medicaid recipients in the entire country, with roughly 68% of constituents relying on Medicaid. In 2024, the race for CA-22 saw nearly $25 million in outside spending, with Democratic candidate Rudy Salas raising $6.4 million and Rep. David Valadao raising $4.8 million. In 2026, Villegas is challenging incumbent Rep. Valadao. The nonpartisan primary election for CA-22 was held on June 2, 2026. Despite being in a competive primary, and facing an onslaught of outside spending against his campaign, Villegas secured enough votes and will be facing off against Rep. Valadao in the general.