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Even in Bakersfield, the heart of conservative California, insurgent populism is having a moment.
Exhibit A: The hundreds of sweaty Californians who braved 105-degree heat on Sunday to hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressive Democrats’ modern-day Moses.
“Anytime he comes to Bakersfield, I always show up,” said local resident Kacie Mills, 34, who said Sunday was her third time seeing Sanders in her hometown. As a progressive in a historically conservative area, Sanders’ visits turn out people and organizations that “don’t get a lot of light,” Mills said.
This time, she was more excited to hear from Randy Villegas, a progressive 31-year-old community college professor hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao, who has represented the area for more than 12 years.
“He’s someone who wasn’t really on my radar, and it’s nice to have someone who is, like, close to my age, who believes in things that I believe in,” Mills said.
Sanders held court at the high school alma mater of Republican former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, where he came to rally support for Villegas and other Democratic candidates. The contest in the 22nd Congressional District in central California is one of the most closely watched in the nation.
“The good news is that people like Randy Villegas are standing up and running all over this country, taking on the establishment and winning!” Sanders said. “I want you to do everything you can, between now and election day, to make sure that Randy is your next congressman.”
Across the country this summer, Democratic primary voters enthusiastically rallied behind candidates who champion universal healthcare, refuse money from corporate political groups and demand the U.S. stop enabling what they call Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
But many of those candidates have thrived only within the relative safety of a blue district or state. This Central Valley-based district, a historically conservative, low-turnout area, presents a greater challenge. The district is considered a true toss-up this November as Democrats seek to take control of the House.
“I think there’s a lot of desire for change, and I’m hoping the community will be energized,” said Jose Barajas, 31, a lifelong Central Valley resident who traveled from Tulare to hear Sanders and Villegas speak.
He said that while the Central Valley has been a conservative bastion, he feels hopeful that Democrats have a strong chance of flipping the seat this year.
“If there was any time, the time is now,” Barajas said.
In the last year, Villegas has gone from political nobody to a credible Democratic challenger in one of the country’s most competitive races. He is betting that his progressive and populist message will energize enough young, working-class and Latino voters in the district to help him oust Valadao, whose only reelection loss came in 2018 after he voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“We have young people knocking doors in places like Arvin, California who aren’t even old enough to register to vote themselves, and yet are knocking doors because they believe in our vision for the valley,” Villegas told reporters prior to taking the stage.
Villegas earned thunderous cheers as he berated Valadao for supporting cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in Trump’s mega budget bill, refusing to challenge Trump’s recent deals that undercut U.S. ranchers by importing cheap Argentinian beef, and for taking campaign contributions from wealthy corporations such as PG&E and United Healthcare.
He also leaned heavily into his roots as the son of Mexican immigrants — they accompanied him onstage, along with his wife — who has spent his whole life in the Central Valley. While Villegas thanked Sanders for his leadership in progressive politics, he focused most of his remarks on residents of the district.
“Sen. Bernie Sanders came to Bakersfield 10 years ago and showed us that politics can be done differently,” Villegas said. “When I go to Washington, I’m not going alone,” Villegas said. “I’m taking the valley with me.”
The Valadao campaign declined CalMatters’ request to interview the congressmember.
Villegas’ Sunday event in some ways gave Republicans what they have wanted; campaign operatives have been salivating at the chance to tie Villegas to far-left socialist ideology.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican leadership, spent more than $100,000 on mailers against Villegas in the primary to elevate his name ID among Democrats and push him past his more moderate Democratic opponent, Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains.
“I think it’s not a great idea to have this far left-leaning of a candidate,” said Cathy Abernathy, a Bakersfield-based Republican strategist who supports Valadao, though she does not live in his district. She said Sanders and Villegas woo voters with promises of free government-funded healthcare and other programs, and voters aren’t well educated enough in economics to interrogate how those programs will be funded.
“These things he’s promising have to be paid for,” Abernathy said.
National Republicans, who have branded Villegas as a socialist, put it more bluntly.
“Villegas is telling Central Valley voters exactly what he’d be in Congress: A rubber stamp for Bernie’s socialist agenda, with hardworking families in California stuck paying the bill,” said Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in an emailed statement.
The warm-up for Villegas and Sanders was a who’s-who of national liberal groups: National Nurses United, the Working Families Party, insurance commissioner candidate Jane Kim and Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. Even a Republican mayor, Victor Martinez of Mendota, who elicited some groans and awkward silence when he named his political party, called on attendees to set aside their political differences and unite behind Villegas.
“At the end of the day, it’s about humans. It’s not about politics,” said Martinez, who said he was “ashamed” of Valadao for voting to cut Medi-Cal and failing to stand up for immigrant workers.
“Absolutely nobody in the world should be living in fear, or be treated like animals like we’ve been treating our immigrant communities,” Martinez said to thundering applause. “I haven’t heard any of these puppets of Donald Trump’s say anything to him about it.”
