DCCC kicks off general race against Valadao with ad targeting healthcare record
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s latest ad targeting the healthcare voting record of Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, sets the tone for a race in which Medi-Cal access will take center stage.
The advertisement by the U.S. House Democrats’ fundraising arm references Valado’s controversial record on healthcare. In the 22nd Congressional District, about two-thirds of voters rely on Medi-Cal which is the highest enrollment rate in California and of any Republican seat in the country. Children in the district are especially vulnerable to cuts, with 87% enrolled in the program.
“Valadao risks health care for 57,000 constituents,” the ad said, which will run on social media sites.
That idea is a central part of the DCCC’s campaign to flip the district in the upcoming general election.
“We are going on offense early to make sure voters know the stakes in November,” said DCCC Spokesperson Anna Elsasser. “David Valadao has broken his promises to the Valley — ripping away their healthcare and raising their costs. Voters are going to hear about his betrayal of Valley families from now until Election Day.”
In June 2025, Valadao co-authored a letter criticizing the budget reductions proposed in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities,” the letter said.
But two weeks later, he voted in favor of the bill.
Valadao later defended his final vote. He still had concerns, he said, but had been assured that $50 billion would be available to support rural hospitals nationwide. He also cited tax break provisions, which economists say will mostly benefit the ultra-wealthy.
“My top priority is protecting Medicaid for our most vulnerable: seniors, children, pregnant women and disabled individuals,” Valadao said in a statement emailed to the Sacramento Bee Tuesday. “That’s why I voted to include commonsense exemptions for Californians facing serious medical issues, economic hardship or high unemployment.”
Valadao also said the cuts match eligibility standards for other federal assistance programs.
It’s not the first time Valadao’s healthcare actions have raised voters’ hackles. In 2018, the Republican briefly lost his seat when he voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. But in 2023, voters returned him to the House.
With Valadao’s vote for healthcare cuts last year, the DCCC hopes to capitalize on voters’ sentiments again.
The group previously backed Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Bakersfield, in the primary, even paying for a $135,000 ad spot. If she had won, the former physician and current assembly member would have touted her strong healthcare record through the general.
Instead, Valadao will face off against progressive Randy Villegas, a college professor and son of Mexican immigrants, who built grassroots support in the heavily Latino, working-class district. He ran on policies such as Medicare for All and said he would not accept corporate money.
After the primary, the DCCC formally endorsed Villegas and added him to the “Red to Blue” program, which funds candidates with the potential to flip conservative districts.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has said Villegas is a socialist, and called his relationship with the Democratic Majority for America PAC, which backs candidates who aim to end U.S. aid for Israel, antisemitic
