BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Ahead of the November 5 election, candidates David Valadao and Rudy Salas discussed the important topics relating to the 22nd Congressional District.
- To better understand the dynamics of this race, I sat down with both candidates: incumbent Republican Representative David Valadao and former Assemblyman Rudy Salas. This is the first part of those interviews.
- While Valadao is the incumbent, the district is mostly filled with registered democrats.
- According to voter registration data, democrats make up 41.2% of the area, while republicans make up 27.3% and 23.1% of voters are registered no-party preference.
As California's 22nd Congressional District race draws closer, a much-anticipated rematch is drawing attention in the Central Valley. Incumbent David Valadao and Democrat Rudy Salas will face-off again for the chance to represent the counties of Kern, Kings, and Tulare.
While Valadao is the incumbent, the district is mostly filled with registered democrats. According to voter registration data, democrats make up 41.2% of the area, while republicans make up 27.3% and 23.1% of voters are registered no-party preference.
To better understand the dynamics of this race, I sat down with both candidates: incumbent Republican Representative David Valadao and former Assemblyman Rudy Salas. This is the second part of those interviews.
Rudy Salas:
Rudy Salas is a Bakersfield native who spent a decade in the State Assembly and now he's set his sights on Congress.
In 2022, Salas lost the seat to Valadao by only 3 percentage points, amounting to less than 4,000 votes—something he attributed to low voter turnout. This time around, he hoped to gain momentum with voters by promising to stand for Central Valley families at the federal level.
"Wanting to now run for Congress and try to be at a bigger stage to help out in a bigger way,” Salas said. "It's building on those successes, building on those types of things, those bills, and those types of things that actually help make a difference in people's lives. And that's what I want to do in D.C.”
Salas highlighted his legislative successes, asserting his intention to advocate for key industries such as agriculture, oil, and energy in Congress. He pointed to his opposition to gas tax increases as an example of his commitment to addressing rising fuel costs.
“On the policy side is voting, but on the other side is actually promoting policies that help deliver energy independence from foreign places like Saudi Arabia or OPEC or Venezuela. It's actually developing good paying jobs like we have here in the Central Valley, here in Kern County, right out on the west side,” he said. “It's promoting those types of jobs, but then also looking at the future and trying to look at things like carbon sequestration, for instance, something that I've been a big proponent of and actually bringing millions of dollars to actually help promote here at home as well.”
Healthcare also emerged as a significant focus for Salas, who successfully secured funding for a Valley Fever Institute in Kern County. Additionally, he reiterated his stance on reproductive rights, stating that decisions should remain between a woman, her doctor, and her faith. He said he hopes in Congress to address rising medical costs, especially for seniors.
“So when we're talking about, for instance, a lot of people here are affected by diabetes, right? We have some of the largest diabetic rates in the entire country, let alone here in California,” Salas said. “So you look at, you know, what can we do to actually bring down the price of lifesaving insulin, right, for people with diabetes.”
While his experience is in the state assembly, Salas tells me he's ready to handle conflict at a higher level. Wanting to support U.S. allies but maintaining a focus on his constituents. Salas said in Congress, he wants to improve immigration systems, develop more local carbon capture and sequestration, and crack down on criminal consequences.
"This is why it's so imperative that I get to Congress to help free up those resources so that we can coordinate between the federal, state, and local level to actually go after criminals."
He also tells me he thinks the federal government needs to prioritize homelessness and get people into housing and mental health services.
"I think we need to bring more accountability into those dollars, into those resources, to make sure that we're actually helping people."
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