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“David Valadao is unable to stand up to his party’s worst impulses and has repeatedly sided with the GOP over the needs of his constituents – saying one thing in the Valley while voting as an extremist in DC every chance he gets. Voters in the Valley have a real champion in Rudy Salas – who grew up working the fields of the Central Valley with his family, advocated for his community as the first Latino on the Bakersfield City Council in its 112-year history, and delivered for Californians in the State Assembly. He’s a leader who will fight for hardworking California families in Congress, and the right person to oust MAGA enabler Valadao,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Dan Gottlieb
Date: March 13, 2024
Subject: The Case Against David Valadao
While David Valadao has twisted himself in knots to appear moderate to Valley voters, his long-time voting record begs to differ. From cosponsoring legislation to restrict abortion access without exception nationwide to undermining overtime pay and minimum wage increases for California workers, Valadao has toed the party line for so long that he’s forgotten he’s actually supposed to fight for Valley families. Other times, he’s been paid to forget – taking hundreds of thousands of dollars for his campaigns from Big Pharma and other special interests while conveniently voting against legislation to stop them from pricing gouging Central Valley families and against capping the cost of life-saving medicine like insulin. Valadao is an enabler of his party’s worst impulses, and his constituents deserve better.
Born and raised in the Central Valley, Rudy Salas grew up working the fields with his dad before the sun rose. As the first Latino Bakersfield City Council Member in its 112-year history, and later as a California Assemblymember, Rudy has fought for the values of hardworking families in his community. And if elected, he’d be the first Latino to ever represent the majority-Latino Central Valley in Congress.
From protecting a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions and winning overtime pay for farmworkers to lowering the price of prescription medication and voting against the gas tax – the only Assembly Democrat to do so – Rudy has always stood up for the Central Valley. He’ll do the same for this Biden +12.4 district in Congress.
SAYS ONE THING IN THE VALLEY, VOTES ANOTHER WAY IN DC: VALADAO ROUTINELY VOTES OUT OF STEP WITH CENTRAL VALLEY VALUES
Valadao has spent his entire career saying one thing to his constituents in the Central Valley and voting another way in DC. On reproductive freedom, Valadao championed a bill to ban abortion without exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of a woman – endangering IVF treatment by co-sponsoring the Life at Conception Act, and even voting against protecting access to contraception.
On economic insecurity, Valadao has actively worked to make things harder for his constituents – voting to raise taxes on Central Valley families while cutting Social Security and Medicare, voting to gut funding for veterans and seniors, and opposing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fix California’s crumbling roads.
Valadao’s record on health care isn’t any better, voting to rip health care away from more than 60,000 of his own constituents, against protecting paid sick leave, and against capping the cost of insulin.
Even though Valadao has repeatedly voted against measures that would cut costs for Central Valley families, that hasn’t stopped him from trying to take credit anyway. In a district where energy costs are skyrocketing, Valadao bragged about critical California energy investments funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that he opposed. Despite the law’s bipartisan support, so-called “moderate” Valadao still didn’t have the backbone to buck the Republican party’s far-right fringes. Instead, he “voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and then celebrated its effects.”
CENTRAL VALLEY FAMILIES CAN’T AFFORD VALADAO
Plain and simple, it’s becoming harder by the day for residents of California’s 22nd District to afford Valadao’s economic extremism. From refusing to lower gas and grocery costs, to voting against lowering the costs of life-saving medicine, to opposing minimum wage increases and undermining overtime pay for workers, the price of his far-right pandering in Congress has been devastating to the financial well-being of the Central Valley.
In the meantime, Valadao has made no secret of who he answers to – taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Big Pharma and Big Oil, while failing to stop them from gouging Central Valley drivers at the pump.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Fresno Bee: For the 22nd congressional district, one candidate is best. [Fresno Bee, 2/15/24]
“Salas’ priorities of health care, taking care of seniors and supporting farm workers is well suited for the 22nd District, a heavily agricultural area with significant poverty. Salas’ long tenure in state government equips him with the know-how of politics to do well in Congress.”
“Overall, Valadao remains true to the GOP platform, which is not going to be the most help to residents of the 22nd District. Salas is much more in tune with the needs of the district, and The Bee Editorial Board recommends him again.”
Politico: “Valadao voted in 2021 against the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocated $6 billion for nuclear power. Then he visited the plant on California’s Central Coast in August, after the law helped prevent its closure, and praised the plant’s role in “lowering costs, creating jobs and strengthening our national security.” [Politico, 12/12/23]
The Guardian: The California town that could hold the key to control of the House in 2024. [The Guardian, 10/23/23]
Los Angeles Times: Column: These California Republicans voted for Jim Jordan and against the good of the country. Remember their names. [Los Angeles Times, 10/17/23]
PATH TO VICTORY
Despite being vastly outspent and facing the lowest turnout election in nearly a decade, Rudy Salas came within just over 3,000 votes of unseating David Valadao in 2022. Valadao will struggle to raise the same level of resources to defend this seat after his primary benefactor, neighbor Kevin McCarthy was dumped from GOP leadership. Meanwhile, Salas has established a wide base of support, a legislative record of success to back it up, and a competitive congressional fundraising operation – already doubling his war chest compared to this point last cycle. It’s safe to expect a much larger turnout in 2024, bolstered by the presidential election, in a 60%+ Latino district that went for President Biden in 2020 by more than 12 percentage points and where Democrats hold a 15.6-point registration advantage over Republicans – which further primes Salas for success.
Rudy Salas is a born-and-bred product of the Central Valley – a proven champion of the cost-cutting policies needed in Washington, and a well-equipped problem solver with the record and the resources to be the first Latino the Central Valley has ever sent to Congress. In the race to represent California’s 22nd, Salas will prove why he’s the right representative for the Valley’s values – and oust Valadao this November. |
