Rep. David Valadao, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, is projected to lose his reelection race to Democrat Randy Villegas in California’s 22nd Congressional District. CBS News projected the result on Nov. 4, following the election held the previous day. The Associated Press also reported Villegas as the winner.
The outcome makes Valadao the last of the House Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment to either lose reelection or announce retirement. Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, the other Republican from that group still in Congress, is retiring.
Valadao was first elected to the House in 2012. He lost his seat in 2018, when Democrats won more than 40 seats, then returned to Congress after winning it back in 2020. His vote to impeach Trump came in January 2021.
Villegas advanced after a Democratic primary upset
Villegas, a progressive Democrat, secured a place in the general election by edging out a more moderate Democrat in California’s top-two primary. Establishment Democrats had intervened in the Central Valley contest to support the moderate candidate.
The race took place in a heavily Hispanic district, a constituency that shifted away from Democrats in 2024. The district’s boundaries were also redrawn after California voters approved a new congressional map in 2025.
The result remains a projection rather than a certified count. California’s election calendar sets Dec. 11, 2026, as the deadline for statewide certification, according to the California Secretary of State.
Reid Bentley