David Valadao is the incumbent Republican U.S. representative for California's 22nd Congressional District. A Hanford dairy farmer and former California state assemblymember, he previously represented a Central Valley district in Congress from 2013 to 2019 and returned to the House in 2021. In the 2026 cycle he has emphasized his congressional record and local federal investments, and in late September he campaigned in Bakersfield alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson ahead of an October 6 televised debate with Democratic challenger Randy Villegas.
Valadao says healthcare should be affordable and available to all, including elderly, poor people, and those with pre-existing conditions. His campaign favors market-based reforms with competitive choices and keeping healthcare decisions with patients and doctors rather than the federal government; it also says he would protect Medicare and Medicaid. In 2026, he promoted lowering healthcare costs and protecting Medicare and Medicaid in campaign ads, while NPR reported that he voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included healthcare funding cuts.
Valadao supports an “all of the above” energy approach combining nuclear, clean coal, oil and natural gas, wind, solar, and hydropower. He says energy policy should reduce pollution and protect air and water while expanding domestic energy production, cutting regulatory and litigation barriers, lowering costs, and supporting jobs; his 2026 campaign page specifically emphasizes developing both renewable resources and California oil and natural gas.
Valadao says economic policy should prioritize rural and working families and small businesses, which he describes as the backbone of the economy. He supports lowering taxes and reducing what he considers unnecessary federal regulations and government spending to encourage hiring and investment, and links Central Valley economic growth to agriculture, farm-to-market infrastructure, and reliable water. In a newer August 5, 2026 statement, he highlighted farmers markets as helping support food access and bolster local economies.
Valadao has a restrictive anti-abortion voting record. In 2025, he voted for the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 21), the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), and H.R. 6703, measures that reproductive-rights organizations characterize as restricting abortion access, abortion coverage, or related reproductive-health funding. Earlier reporting also described him as opposing abortion in cases of rape or incest and as a 2022 co-sponsor of a life-at-conception bill. No newer public abortion-specific statement or policy page was found after August 4, 2026.
Valadao supports bipartisan immigration reform combining stronger border security with earned legal status for eligible long-term undocumented residents, including Dreamers, and work permits. He also supports expanding and modernizing the H-2A agricultural-worker program, including a pathway for eligible undocumented agricultural workers to obtain H-2A status after meeting requirements such as a criminal-background check.
Valadao says he is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and, as a gun owner, supports firearms ownership for lawful purposes including hunting, recreation, and self-defense. He has also identified H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, as legislation he cosponsored to protect concealed-carry rights across state lines.
Valadao's official education position emphasizes broad access to quality, affordable education; local control and flexibility for K–12 schools rather than a one-size-fits-all federal approach; and adequately funded federal higher-education aid programs. In his December 2025 PATHS to Tutor Act announcement, he also supported expanding one-on-one and small-group tutoring in underserved communities while giving aspiring teachers classroom experience. No newer education-specific statement or vote after August 4, 2026 was identified in the searched official materials.
Valadao's official issues page states that all students should have access to quality education regardless of race, religion, income level, age, or learning ability, and says he supports making education more affordable and comprehensive. No newer, dedicated Civil Rights & Equality policy statement or directly relevant post-August 4, 2026 vote was identified in the searches conducted.
Valadao says the United States should pursue a long-term foreign-policy strategy, work with allies against terrorism, counter Russia, and maintain congressional oversight of nuclear agreements involving Iran and North Korea. In congressional actions, he has supported strengthening defense partnerships and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East, including U.S.-Israel cooperation, and has backed sanctions and other measures targeting Iran and its proxies.
Valadao emphasizes directing federal resources to Central Valley community needs, including affordable senior housing, rural and underserved health care, water-system reliability, roads and transportation, emergency response, and local agricultural economies. In August 2026, he highlighted securing more than $7.57 million for a Bakersfield senior center project providing 36 affordable senior housing units and support services, and supported recognition of community health centers serving rural and underserved residents; his FY2027 community-project requests also include district water, road, flood-control, public-safety, and health-care projects.
Valadao has supported practical government uses of AI and automation, including legislation to make AI tools available to Department of Veterans Affairs employees to improve claims processing. He also backed the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act, citing investment in advanced technologies for military readiness. Congress.gov separately lists him as a sponsor of H.R. 9442, the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Moratorium and Jobs Preservation Act, which would pause construction of new data centers pending safeguards for the public interest; the available sources do not establish whether he has taken a position on every provision of that bill.
Valadao supports measures he describes as strengthening election administration and public confidence, including the Election Results Accountability Act, which would require states to publicly report at least 90% of federal-election ballots within 72 hours and complete counting and certification within two weeks, subject to specified exceptions. Congress.gov also lists him as a cosponsor of the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
Valadao says healthcare should be affordable and available to all, including elderly, poor people, and those with pre-existing conditions. His campaign favors market-based reforms with competitive choices and keeping healthcare decisions with patients and doctors rather than the federal government; it also says he would protect Medicare and Medicaid. In 2026, he promoted lowering healthcare costs and protecting Medicare and Medicaid in campaign ads, while NPR reported that he voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included healthcare funding cuts.
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Background
Career History
U.S. Representative2021 – Present
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Representative2013 – 2019
U.S. House of Representatives
State Assemblyman2010 – 2012
California State Assembly
Education
College of the SequoiasAttended (no degree) in Not specified (1998)
Top Donors
Valadao, a Central Valley dairy farmer and six-term Republican incumbent, has raised approximately $4.9M in total receipts for the 2026 cycle (through June 30, 2026), with about $3.3M in total contributions, $1.4M from individual donors, and $1.9M from other committees/PACs, leaving roughly $3.4M cash on hand. His funding is dominated by PACs and committee contributions ($1.6M) plus transfers ($1.4M), with top individual-donor states being California, Texas, and Florida and notable employer clusters including NextEra Energy and EVgo. Reflecting his agricultural background, he has historically drawn strong support from agribusiness and dairy industry interests.
Valadao is a moderate Republican incumbent who was one of only 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump in 2021 over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and he is a member of the Main Street Caucus, Problem Solvers Caucus, and Republican Governance Group. In 2025 he cast the decisive vote for Trump's reconciliation 'megabill' that cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid/Medi-Cal — significant because his district has the highest Medicaid enrollment (64%) of any Republican seat — while later joining Democrats and 16 other Republicans in a symbolic vote to extend expired ACA tax subsidies. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee (chair of the Legislative Branch subcommittee) and the Agriculture Committee, and has missed only 1.3% of roll call votes over his career.