Two Democrats Battling to Unseat Longtime Central Valley Congressman

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, May 29, 2026

• One of the most competitive primary races for Congress right now is a swing district in the Central Valley. Democrats there are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao.  But first they need a nominee. With just days until the primary , the party’s two candidates in the 22nd Congressional District are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic Party contemplates its own identity. 
• California is rolling out first-of-its-kind regulations pushing manufactures to cut plastic pollution. One of the deadlines for producers is Monday.

‘A tug of war for the identity of the party’ – why a Valley congressional race is key for Democrats

One of the country’s most competitive primary races for Congress this year is a swing district in Central California, where Democrats are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao.

District 22, which stretches across parts of four counties in California’s rural and agricultural Central Valley, is politically purple. Even though Democratic voters have held a slight majority in this district for many years, Valadao has won six of the last seven congressional elections here.

But statewide redistricting last year, which rewrote California’s congressional district maps, is expected to have made this district even more favorable for Democrats. And with less than a week until the primary on June 2, the party’s two candidates are competing for who can appeal to the most voters – as the national Democratic party contemplates its own identity.

One of those candidates is Randy Villegas, a political science professor at a local community college – College of the Sequoias – and an elected trustee of the Visalia Unified School District. On a recent night canvassing in the Kings County town of Hanford, Villegas’s messages advocating for universal healthcare and suspending federal gas taxes seemed to resonate with voters. When he asked them if he could count on their votes, many said yes – and some even said they had already voted for him before submitting their ballots early.

On the trail, Villegas says he refuses to accept campaign contributions from political action committees (PACs) funded by corporations. “I’m proud to be the only candidate in this race that has never touched a corporate PAC check, and I never will, because I want to be committed to our communities and not corporate interests,” he said.

California state Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains is also running for the Democratic nomination in District 22. She represents part of this district in the state legislature and is also a family doctor. “It’s time we elect the physician to Congress,” she said.

In Sacramento, Bains has voted for Democratic priorities like access to abortion rights and public school funding. But she also bucked her party on some prominent issues, including by voting against Democratic redistricting and a legislative effort to restrict oil industry profits. She says she listens to her constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump. “The people that represent the Valley understand the importance of standing up for the Valley, not their party,” she said.

One thing she and Villegas have in common is that they both scold Valadao for his 2025 vote to slash Medicaid funding through the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, even though his district has one of the highest Medicaid enrollments in the country.

Deadline for single-use packaging approaches

Since the midcentury, the production of plastics has increased hundreds of times. It’s found in remote arctic wildlife and babies’ poop. Production is expected to triple in the next 25 years.

California is trying to halt the trend. A state bill passed in 2022 makes manufacturers responsible for reducing and cleaning up the plastic they use, including ensuring all of their packaging is recyclable or compostable by 2032. June 1st is a deadline for producers to submit baseline data about their use.

“I feel like every day something new comes out about the potential dangers associated with microplastics. This is an opportunity for us to reduce that material that’s being sold into the state in a very meaningful way,” said Zoe Heller, director of CalRecycle. That’s the department that is overseeing implementation of the law.

The industry has asked for more time to comply and said food prices may rise. A state analysis indicated consumers would save money overall, bearing less clean up costs and avoiding illness.