Rep. Valadao announces intentions to run for newly created 22nd District

“I’ll continue to be an independent member of Congress who will stand up to the divisive partisanship in Washington D.C., get things done to grow our local economy, and deliver more water for our farmers and communities. I’m excited to earn the vote of old friends as well as new voters across Kern, Kings, and Tulare Counties.”

Valadao, so far, may be forced to fend off a Republican challenger, Chris Mathys (a former Fresno city councilmember). However, the former Fresno councilmember, before redistricting changes, signed up to run in the 21st Congressional District.

Recently, Democrat Assemblyman Rudy Salas, who represents Lemoore and Kings County,  recently announced that he is running for the 21st Congressional District seat, announced before redistricting changes.

Former assemblywoman Nicole Parra also announced that she was running for the 21st District seat.

Three years ago, Valadao lost in an upset to Democrat TJ Cox, but in a rematch in 2020, Valadao edged the first-term congressman, and shortly after his re-election, he was one of 10 Republicans who joined with Democrats calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump.

Since returning to office last January,  Valadao has introduced two pieces of legislation that would increase access to water for farmers and families. Within the first eight months of his term, Congressman Valadao said he visited every community in the district to ensure that the Valley is heard in Washington.

In a press release,  Valadao said he has cosponsored over 200 bills in the past year, of which three have been signed into law to improve healthcare access for our veterans and other vulnerable groups. Several more bills have passed in the House of Representatives, including legislation to address the supply chain crisis, an issue he has been hard at work to resolve.

He also worked with federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Veteran Affairs, the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and more to resolve over 300 constituent requests.

In 2016, Congressman Valadao led a bipartisan group in Congress to pass the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act), signed into law. The California water provisions included in the WIIN Act allow for the development of new water infrastructure, provide funding for storage and groundwater projects, and improve operations on the Central Valley Project.

Additionally, Congressman Valadao continues to work with Republicans and Democrats to fix America’s broken immigration system. “We need to protect families and children who have spent their whole lives in this country while looking out for America’s workers and strengthening our border security.”