Central Valley Democrat Dr. Jasmeet Bains challenges Rep. David Valadao
Democratic state lawmaker and physician Jasmeet Bains will challenge Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, for his Central Valley congressional seat, she announced Wednesday morning.
Bains ripped Valadao for supporting President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill despite the four-term congressman saying he would not support large-scale cuts to Medicaid.
The Republican tax bill is expected to cut more than $1 trillion from the low-income health insurance program over the next decade. Roughly two-thirds of residents in Valadao’s district rely on Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, for health coverage.
“In the middle of an affordability crisis in the Central Valley, while our communities struggle to afford care, food, or clean water, Valadao just voted to gut Medi-Cal that provides 68% of the affordable healthcare in our community, jack up prescription drug prices, and cut off food assistance for thousands of hardworking folks,” Bains said in a statement announcing her campaign. “That’s not leadership — that’s betrayal.”
Bains, a moderate Democrat from Delano, became the first Sikh American and the first woman of South Asian descent elected to the California Assembly when she won her 2022 race.
She has broken with her party on oil and gas regulations and public safety. Early in her tenure she was removed from a committee position after she voted against a bill sponsored by Gov. Gavin Newsom to crack down on oil industry profits.
Bains has also continued to work as a physician while serving in the Legislature, something she highlighted in a video announcing her campaign.
“As a doctor, I took an oath to take care of everyone,” she said. “David Valadao just voted for the largest cut to healthcare in history to give tax breaks to billionaires and Wall Street, even after he admitted this bill threatens access to care and jeopardizes our hospitals.”
Republicans seized on her campaign announcement and painted her as a “radical activist.”
“Radical Democrat Jasmeet Bains will never represent the values of the Central Valley with her extreme record that sells out hardworking California families,” said Christian Martinez, spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee.
“She’s more focused on handing out taxpayer-funded home loans, welfare, and free healthcare to illegal immigrants than defending the very Californians footing the bill. Californians deserve better than a radical activist masquerading as their representative.”
The congressional district is a perennial election priority for both political parties, which pour millions into elections for control of the right-leaning seat.
Valadao was first elected to Congress in 2012. He lost his seat in 2018 during the first Trump administration, then won it back two years later.
While he’s considered vulnerable in 2026, Valadao is not one of the shakiest Republicans. Inside Elections, a nonpartisan group that analyzes races, rates the district as “lean Republican.”
Valadao ended the first half of this year with $1.39 million on hand. He raised a total of $857,324 in the second quarter, including $326,710 in contributions from political action committees
Valadao’s campaign raised and spent about $4.8 million in the 2023-24 cycle. He defeated former Democratic Assemblymember Rudy Salas by 7 percentage points.
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 9:32 AM.
