David Valadao vs. Rudy Salas: Candidates for California’s tossup 22nd Congressional District

California Republican Rep. David Valado was one of just 10 GOP House members who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Now, the Hanford dairyman is in a close campaign for reelection against Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield.

The race for California’s 22nd Congressional District is considered a tossup even though Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district. Valadao has run for Congress five times in the battleground region, and won four of his campaigns.

David Valadao

Party: Republican

Age: 45

Birthplace: Hanford

Residence: Hanford

Occupation: Dairy farmer, congressman

Education: Hanford High School; attended College of the Sequoias

Offices held: Assemblyman, 2010-2012; congressman, 2013-2018, since 2021

Website: ValadaoForCongress.com

What is the most important issue in your district right now? What immediate actions would you take and what legislation would you propose?

Communities throughout the Central Valley are running out of water for daily use in homes, businesses, and agriculture production. Without water, our farmers can’t grow the food that feeds the country, drives our local economy, and keeps food prices low for Valley families. Getting our rural communities the water they need has and always will be my top priority. Addressing our drought and water crisis starts with better managing the water we have instead of sending it to the ocean. Increasing water storage capacity is something that we were able to do with the WIIN Act in 2016, and it helped us with funding for things like repairing the Friant-Kern Canal. I’ve introduced the RENEW WIIN Act which helps give more operational flexibility to the way we move water through the Delta and funds critical water infrastructure projects. Right now we’re working with water stakeholders throughout the state on comprehensive water legislation to address these needs and provide more flexibility and water infrastructure.

What are the three biggest changes you’ve seen in the Valley since you were a kid? Are you optimistic about those changes? If not, what needs to be done?

▪ Crime. California’s soft-on-crime policies have really had an impact on the Valley and the entire state. Our law enforcement has its hands tied because of the lax sentencing policies that keep putting repeat offenders on the streets. This really needs to be addressed at the state level. At the federal level, I’ve supported legislation that would support our police departments in rural communities in recruiting and training qualified candidates. The bottom line is policing is no longer a career that is desirable to a lot of folks because of the way the left has villainized them. We need to make sure that we have enough police officers and that these officers are properly trained to respond to the increased need for them in our communities.

▪ Homelessness. When I was younger this seemed to be a big-city issue and now you see it all throughout our rural communities. We need to do more to address mental health, drug addiction and housing affordability in the state so that displaced residents have the resources to get off our streets, into rehabilitation centers and into permanent housing. At the federal level, I’ve secured targeted funding for homeless assistance grants but this is a complex issue that doesn’t have one easy fix.

▪ Education. On a more positive note, I think that overall our education system and the amount of kids who are excited to be in school has improved. There’s still a lot of work to be done in catching kids up who fell behind during the pandemic, but every time I go to a school to talk with teachers it seems that there are a lot of educators in our community who truly care about the kids and are putting in extra hours to get them caught up.

Based on what we know as of Sept. 1, should Donald Trump and/or Joe Biden run for president in 2024? Why or why not?

I don’t think we need to repeat the 2020 election. I’d like to see two different candidates on the ballot in 2024.

Are there issues where you differ with your party? If so, where do you stand?

My parents are immigrants so immigration is an issue that is personal for me and important for our community. It’s tough because a lot of people try to play politics with the issue which makes finding compromise a real challenge. We have a humanitarian crisis on our border that needs to be addressed so that fentanyl and human traffickers aren’t making it into our country and causing problems here. At the same time, we need to fix the immigration process so that people who want to come here to work have the ability to do that in a safe way.

A lot of industries in the Central Valley rely on immigrant labor, but many of these people live in fear due to an inability to gain legal status through our broken immigration system. Ensuring that our essential farm workers already in the states receive legal status, while also simplifying and streamlining the process for future flow of workers, is just common sense. I plan to continue advocating for the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to ensure our farm workers in the Valley can continue doing their jobs and that our farmers have a reliable workforce. Immigration is an issue that I have led on in the past and will continue to lead on even if that means sometimes disagreeing with my party.

Rudy Salas

Party: Democratic

Age: 45

Birthplace: Bakersfield

Residence: Bakersfield

Occupation: Assemblyman

Education: Bachelor’s degree in history and political science, UCLA

Offices held: Bakersfield City Councilman, Assemblyman

Website: RudySalas.com

What is the most important issue people in your district face right now? What are the immediate actions you would take next session and the legislation you would propose?

Money. People need more of it here and less of it in Washington, D.C. I will vote “yes” on capping insulin prices, “yes” on safe water infrastructure, “yes” on a $15 federal minimum wage, and “yes” on women’s right to choose.

What are the three biggest differences you see in the Valley now compared to when you were a kid? Are you optimistic about those changes? If not, what needs to be done to address them?

I’ve increased funding to fight drug gangs, but we need more help from Washington, D.C. In the Assembly, I’ve stood up for the middle-class jobs in our oil and gas industry that are under attack. In Congress, I will be able to leverage more. I’ve doubled the funding for each Central Valley school student. I will do more in Congress to get more of them through college.

Should Donald Trump and/or Joe Biden run for president in 2024 based on any public knowledge we have as of Sept. 1? Why or why not?

Whether Donald Trump and or Joe Biden run is up to the people. For me, in Congress, I will be focused on lowering costs, improving water quality, and supporting working families and small businesses here in the Central Valley.

Are there issues where you differ with your party? If so, where do you stand?

Sometimes the party pays more attention to people who use yoga mats than to the people who use laundromats. And that’s a real weakness. I was named legislator of the year by the police chiefs association because I’ve stood up against my own party to increase funding for police. I’ve also stood up to my party to make sure criminals aren’t let out early. I’ve also stood up against my party when I voted against the gas tax.

This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.