California State Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D) and U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R) are running in the general election for California’s 22nd Congressional District on November 8, 2022. Heading into the election, the incumbent is Republican Connie Conway, who was first elected in a special election on June 7, 2022, to replace Devin Nunes. Conway chose not to run for a full term.
The Bakersfield Californian’s Sam Morgan has written, “Salas and Valadao have positioned themselves as independent-minded politicians in an effort to appeal to undecided and centrist voters.”
Salas is a member of the California State Assembly, a position to which he was first elected in 2011. Salas has run on his record in the Assembly, saying, “I’ve proven over the last decade that I’ve been able to deliver for Central Valley families. Whether that’s direct funding in million of dollars to expand nursing programs, bring new buildings, public safety, clean drinking water. There is a big difference between me and my opponents: I’ve been able to deliver on these things.” Salas has said he was the only Democrat to vote in 2017 against increasing the gasoline tax, saying, “I’m always going to do what I feel is right for Central Valley families, whether that a Democratic idea, a Republican idea, an independent idea.”
