Villegas, a progressive Democrat endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, defeated Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a physician and more moderate Democrat who had support from state and national party leaders. His primary performance marked a significant upset in a Central Valley district long viewed as difficult terrain for Democrats.

With more than 32% of the vote in Tuesday’s top-two primary, Villegas secured a place on the general election ballot alongside Valadao, who had already advanced. Bains represents much of the congressional district in the state Legislature, but Villegas, a first-time congressional candidate, outpaced her despite the party establishment’s preference for a centrist contender.

The Bakersfield-centered 22nd District is considered one of the most important battlegrounds in the country as Democrats seek to regain control of the House. Valadao has repeatedly survived in a district where Democrats see an opportunity, making him one of California’s toughest Republican incumbents.

Villegas said in an interview with CalMatters that his campaign proved it could compete through field organizing, fundraising and voter outreach without accepting corporate political action committee money.

“It’s clear that voters are looking for change, and voters are looking for someone who’s actually going to represent the valley’s values and not somebody who’s going to continuously sell us out to corporate interests and to billionaire donors,” Villegas said. “This seat is not for sale.”

The primary became a test of competing Democratic strategies in a conservative-leaning district with a large working-class and Latino electorate. For years, Democrats have often favored moderate candidates in swing seats, arguing they are better positioned to appeal to independents and Republican-leaning voters.

That approach has not worked against Valadao in recent cycles. Former Assemblymember Rudy Salas, another moderate Central Valley Democrat, ran against Valadao in both 2022 and 2024 and lost both contests.

Villegas’ campaign leaned into economic populism, anti-corruption messaging and criticism of corporate influence in politics. He received support from the Working Families Party, a progressive organization that backs candidates and policies focused on working- and middle-class voters.

His win also came despite a major late campaign push against him. Federal campaign finance records show outside groups spent more than $2.2 million on anti-Villegas messaging in the final month. Those groups included the AIPAC-aligned Democratic Majority for Israel, super PACs tied to centrist House Democratic caucuses and the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with House Republicans.

Kevin Liao, a Democratic strategist not involved in the race, said Villegas benefited from an energetic and accessible campaign, including town halls, forums and door-to-door canvassing.

“You’ve gotta get people motivated to show up and pull your lever, and that’s what he did,” Liao said.

Bains and Valadao both declined to debate Villegas, skipped candidate forums and did not participate in press interviews. Bains declined multiple interview requests from CalMatters and instead provided written statements through a spokesperson. Her campaign spokesperson did not respond to multiple calls and texts seeking comment for the story.

Liao said the outcome reflected a broader question for Democratic campaigns in competitive districts.

“Are you offering folks a sort of energetic, more ambitious vision for what government can offer? Or are you merely saying, ‘Hey, we have to win this seat and defeat a Republican’?” he said. “I think the voters, at least in that district, spoke pretty clearly.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which had endorsed Bains, moved quickly to support Villegas after the results, calling the November campaign “full steam ahead.”

Elsewhere in California’s congressional primaries, several key matchups also took shape.

In the San Diego-based 48th District, California’s only other toss-up congressional seat, Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond will face Democratic San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert in November. Von Wilpert advanced over fellow Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who had twice run against retiring Rep. Darrell Issa.

In San Francisco, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not appear on the November ballot after more than two decades in Congress. Her preferred successor, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, will compete against state Sen. Scott Wiener for the heavily Democratic seat.

The results were mixed for younger candidates who campaigned on generational change.

In the affluent northwest suburbs of Los Angeles, Democratic challenger Jake Levine fell short in his effort to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, who has represented the area for nearly 30 years. Based on votes counted so far, Levine received about 15% of the vote. The liberal 32nd District is expected to feature a general election matchup between Sherman and Republican Larry Thompson.

In Northern California wine country, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson easily advanced to the November ballot, though his opponent remained undecided. He will face either Democrat Eric Jones, a young former venture capitalist, or Republican Ray Rihele.

In the Sacramento suburbs, Rep. Kevin Kiley, who left the Republican Party to run as an independent, will face former Democratic state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, according to The Associated Press.

In Sacramento, Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui will face progressive City Councilwoman Mai Vang, a younger challenger backed by the Working Families Party. The Associated Press called the race for Matsui on election night, but as additional ballots were counted in the following week, Vang moved ahead as the top vote-getter.

Original source: CalMatters

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Under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party. That format is especially important this year as Democrats seek to regain control of Congress and as Republicans have benefited nationally from a series of redistricting-related court decisions.

Democrats are entering the primary with optimism in California after voters approved Proposition 50, which redrew congressional boundaries and sharply reduced the number of competitive districts statewide. If Democrats win the House, they would gain the power to block President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities, scrutinize cabinet officials and pursue investigations into his administration.

Despite the broader national stakes, only two California districts are considered truly competitive: one in the San Joaquin Valley and one in San Diego County. Several other closely watched contests involve Democrats challenging fellow Democrats, often with generational and ideological divides at the center of the campaigns.

The highest-profile race is in the 22nd Congressional District, anchored by Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley. Republican Rep. David Valadao, considered one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents in the country, is seeking reelection. His lone defeat came in 2018 during Trump’s first term. As the only Republican in the race, Valadao is widely expected to secure a spot in the November runoff.

The more uncertain question is which Democrat will face him. Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a physician with extensive experience in hospitals and clinics that depend on Medi-Cal funding, is running as a pragmatic Democrat willing to break with her party. She is competing against Randy Villegas, a college professor and school board trustee who is campaigning as a progressive and has support from the Working Families Party, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The contest reflects a broader Democratic debate over how to win back voters who drifted away in 2024. Bains has backing from national Democrats and several current members of Congress, while Villegas is appealing to voters with a more progressive, economically populist message.

In San Diego County’s 48th Congressional District, Democrats are competing for the chance to run against Republican Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor who has been endorsed by retiring Rep. Darrell Issa.

Two Democrats have separated themselves from the field: San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar, a former Labor Department aide in the Obama administration who previously lost two races to Issa. Brandon Riker, a Palm Springs businessman who shifted districts after Proposition 50, is also running.

The Democratic primary has grown increasingly sharp. Von Wilpert accused Campa-Najjar of being anti-LGBTQ after he questioned whether she could appeal to voters beyond gay-friendly Palm Springs. Campa-Najjar, in turn, accused von Wilpert of racism for raising questions about his name changes and residency.

Elsewhere in California, several races are testing the staying power of longtime Democratic incumbents as younger candidates argue the party needs new leadership.

In San Francisco’s 11th Congressional District, the race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has developed into a competition for second place. State Sen. Scott Wiener leads by double digits in public polling and is expected to advance to November. San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who received Pelosi’s endorsement two weeks before election day, and billionaire tech entrepreneur Saikat Chakrabarti are battling for the other runoff spot.

In Sacramento’s 7th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui is facing the most serious challenge of her 20-year congressional career. Her opponent, Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, is a progressive candidate nearly half Matsui’s age and is campaigning on a message of generational change.

The reshaped 6th Congressional District in the Sacramento suburbs has also drawn attention. Democratic Rep. Ami Bera left that district to run in the newly configured 3rd District. Rep. Kevin Kiley, the incumbent in the 3rd, later left the Republican Party and entered the 6th District race as an independent.

A Democratic-sponsored poll showed Kiley leading the field, with former state Sen. Dr. Richard Pan ahead of the other Democratic candidates. Other Democrats running include Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, Planned Parenthood public affairs executive Lauren Babb-Tomlinson and West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero.

In Wine Country’s 4th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, 75, is seeking a 15th term while facing a challenge from 36-year-old Eric Jones, a former venture capitalist. Jones is focusing his campaign on affordability, including a proposed $10,000 middle-class tax credit and expanded access to zero-down mortgages.

Thompson is emphasizing his seniority, his work opposing the Trump administration and his record of securing federal funding for local projects. He serves as a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy. Two Republican candidates, John MacKenzie and Ray Rihele, have been heavily outspent and are not expected to advance.

In Los Angeles County’s 32nd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, 71, is seeking another term after nearly three decades representing some of the region’s affluent northwestern suburbs. His leading challenger, 42-year-old Jake Levine, argues Sherman has grown disconnected from the district.

Levine, a former climate adviser to Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, is running on a progressive platform that includes universal child care, a federal renters’ tax credit and tuition-free college.

Both Sherman and Levine are expected to move on to the November election.

Original source: CalMatters

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But the party’s move to intervene in the Democratic primary has inflamed tensions among local activists and county party leaders, who say Washington leaders had promised to stay out of the race.

Two Democrats are competing for the chance to challenge Republican Rep. David Valadao, whose seat has become even more important to Democrats after court rulings complicated the party’s redistricting strategy. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently endorsed state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a moderate Democrat from Delano, over Randy Villegas, a progressive college professor from Visalia.

The decision came after the DCCC had previously indicated it would not take sides in the primary unless there was a risk that two Republicans could advance to November. Under California’s top-two primary system, the two candidates with the most votes move on to the general election regardless of party.

“They lied to all of us,” said Christian Romo, chair of the Kern County Democratic Central Committee. Romo said DCCC staff repeatedly assured him the national organization would not get involved in the primary.

Romo and Democratic leaders in Tulare, Fresno and Kings counties have endorsed Villegas. They publicly criticized the DCCC’s decision to place Bains on its list of targeted, winnable races, saying the national party was overriding local Democrats and state party activists who had been unable to agree on an endorsement earlier this year.

“It is a slap in the face to the local parties,” Romo said.

The dispute reflects a broader fight within the Democratic Party over what kind of candidate is best positioned to win in a working-class, heavily Latino district that still leans conservative in many elections. The contest has become a local version of the national power struggle between centrist Democrats and progressive populists.

After redistricting, Democrats hold a narrow registration advantage in the district, with 42% of voters. Republicans make up 26%, while 22% are registered with no party preference, according to the California Target Book.

The DCCC’s involvement underscores the national party’s longstanding caution about backing candidates like Villegas, who has support from prominent progressives and organizations including the Working Families Party, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Bains’ supporters argue she is the stronger general election candidate, pointing to her background as a physician and the district’s reliance on Medicaid, which Valadao voted to cut. They also cite her willingness to break with Democratic leadership in Sacramento.

“Even though she is a Democrat, she is not afraid. She does not necessarily have to vote the party line,” said Mario Nunez, Delano’s interim mayor and an independent voter who supports Bains. “She will vote against the party line if that is what benefits her district.”

Bains has drawn support from major establishment forces in Sacramento and Washington, including SEIU California, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Democratic legislative leaders. Her addition to the DCCC’s list gives her campaign access to the committee’s fundraising network, polling and staff support.

“This race is too important” for the DCCC to sit out, committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington said in a recent interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” DelBene said the committee intervenes in primaries only when it believes one candidate is clearly the strongest choice for the general election.

A DCCC spokesperson declined CalMatters’ request for an interview with a committee representative.

Villegas’ campaign has seized on the national party’s involvement as evidence that Democratic elites are out of touch with working people and are using their power to protect establishment-backed candidates.

“What the ruling class is doing right now is a clear sign that they do not believe my opponent can win this race on her own, so they are trying to step in at the last minute to save her,” Villegas said in an interview with CalMatters.

Jesse Aguilar, a Villegas supporter and board member of the California Teachers Association, said he felt “betrayed” by the national party’s decision to intervene rather than allow voters in the 22nd District to choose the Democratic standard-bearer. The teachers association has endorsed Villegas.

The California Democratic Party, which is separate from the DCCC, did not endorse either candidate in the district at its February convention.

The two Democrats are nearly even in fundraising. Bains has raised about $700,000, while Villegas has raised $718,000, according to the latest federal filings. Villegas has pledged not to accept corporate PAC money and says he has outraised Bains in multiple quarters through grassroots donations. His recent major contributors include Jane Fonda’s Climate PAC and the Latino Victory Fund.

Bains’ recent donors include groups representing health care professionals, including political action committees for anesthesiologists and obstetricians and gynecologists. She also has received support from labor groups such as the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and the California Conference of Carpenters, as well as several California elected officials.

The race has divided major newspaper editorial boards in the district. The Fresno Bee endorsed Villegas, while The Bakersfield Californian urged readers to support Bains.

The advertising war has grown increasingly harsh.

The progressive Working Families Party has spent $150,000 on digital ads portraying Bains as tied to large corporations and highlighting donations from some of the same wealthy donors supporting Valadao.

“Bains took big money from Big Pharma and health care corporations, thousands from polluters, and skipped a vote to extend our health coverage,” one ad paid for by the Working Families Party PAC says.

Bains’ campaign declined a request to interview the assemblymember. In a statement, the campaign said she has “earned the trust of Valley families by delivering results” and has “deep support from people here who know and trust my record.”

A pro-Bains group, Democratic Majority for Israel, whose positions align with AIPAC, launched $500,000 in ads attacking Villegas. The ads accuse him of voting to cover up child sexual abuse while serving on the Visalia school board, an argument the Bains campaign encouraged outside donors to emphasize. The ad cites a Los Angeles Times investigation that found more than 750 lawsuits and settlements stemming from a state law that expanded the ability of school sexual abuse survivors to sue school districts.

Israel has become a dividing line in Democratic primaries in California and across the country, as progressive candidates such as Villegas distance themselves from AIPAC and aligned groups. Villegas has said that, if elected, he would vote against sending additional weapons or military aid to Israel. Bains, who is backed by Democratic Majority for Israel, appeared to privately describe the situation in Gaza as a “genocide,” but later walked back those remarks in a statement to Politico.

“I use the word genocide with caution and do not believe it applies to Israel,” she told Politico.

Villegas called the ads against him “disgusting and pathetic” and accused Bains’ supporters of exploiting the pain and trauma of survivors for political gain. He said he supports survivors’ right to seek justice and argued that confidential legal matters, including settlements in sexual abuse cases, would not be discussed or debated in open session at a school board meeting.

“Nothing in these settlements prevents these people from speaking out and sharing their stories,” Villegas said. “These settlements allow these people and their families to get justice on their own terms, and I will continue to fight every day for all of our students.”

Republican-aligned groups have also waded into competitive districts with advertising strategies aimed at shaping Democratic primaries. Federal filings show that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republican leadership, has spent nearly $72,000 on mailers attacking Villegas as a “left-wing progressive” and “too extreme for the Central Valley.”

The tactic, often used by both parties, can raise a candidate’s name recognition even through negative advertising, with the potential to energize progressive Democrats and Villegas supporters ahead of the primary.

Original source: CalMatters

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Speaking to reporters from a golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes on Friday, Trump said he would strong-arm California’s governor into agreeing to send more water from California’s lush north to farm fields in its drier south.

“Gavin Newscum [Newsom] is going to sign those papers,” Trump said, seemingly referencing a 2020 federal decision to increase water deliveries by weakening endangered species rules that Newsom sued over. “If he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires, and if we don’t give him the money to put out his fires, he’s got problems.”

Newsom snapped back within minutes of Trump’s remarks, saying in an X post the former president “admitted he will block emergency disaster funds to settle political vendettas.”

“Today it’s California’s wildfires. Tomorrow it could be hurricane funding for North Carolina or flooding assistance for homeowners in Pennsylvania,” Newsom wrote, referencing two swing states where Kamala Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck in polls ahead of November.

California currently has several large fires burning, including the Airport, Line and Bridge fires in mountains outside of Los Angeles, which have burned more than 100,000 acres combined. The state received federal aid to help combat the fires this week at Newsom’s request, most recently on Wednesday for the Airport and Bridge fires.

Trump has long threatened to withhold disaster money from California as punishment for its environmental policies. He has also long used California’s water wars as a way to appeal to agricultural interests in the Central Valley, who depend on deliveries from the State Water Project and the federally run Central Valley Project.

The former president stayed true to a campaign promise when he changed Obama-era rules in order to send more water to farmers four years ago.

“The reason you have no water is because Gavin Newscum didn’t want to do it,” he said Friday. “I had it all done.”

Newsom sued over the Trump administration’s rules in February 2020, the day after Trump finalized them at a rally-style speech in Bakersfield, touting their effect on water deliveries. The rules aim to deliver more water to Central Valley farmers by incorporating more flexible pumping rules that would let managers of the massive set of canals, reservoirs and pumping plants take more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

“To protect a little tiny fish called a ‘smelt,’ they send millions and millions of gallons of water out to the Pacific Ocean,” Trump said Friday, referencing California’s efforts to protect vulnerable fish species. “If they turned it back, all of that water would come right down here and right into Los Angeles.”

The Biden administration is currently rewriting the rules and plans to release its version by the end of the year, before a potential 2025 Trump presidency. Newsom’s administration has said it will seek a separate state permit that would allow it to operate the state side of the pumps according to more-stringent endangered species rules, regardless of who wins in November.

Newsom officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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CALIFORNIA —A heat wave baked the Golden State over the weekend, causing emergency room visits to spike in parts of Southern California.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention heat health tracker data, which was updated Saturday, shows “extremely high” rates of heat-related illnesses across California. The data, based on a scale of per 100,000 visits, showed emergency room visits that exceeded the 95th percentile of what is typical.

In the Health and Human Services region that includes California, Arizona and Nevada, emergency room visits went from 204 per 100,000 residents on June 17 to 881 on Sunday.

However, despite the first heatwave of the summer, temperatures have been milder than usual, which is consistent with climate forecasts that called for a mild start to the summer followed by an above-average finish to the season. The historically hottest months are yet to come in California, and they are expected to be blistering throughout the state.

According to the Weather Channel, August will be the hottest month for the entire state.

Most of the state was under minor to no heat risk on Monday, according to the CDC, including San Francisco, San Diego, Riverside, Sonoma, Alameda and San Bernadino Counties. Los Angeles, Orange and Sacramento Counties were under moderate heat risk, meaning it was an okay day to be outside for most people.

The Central Valley, however, raised to a Major heat risk on Monday, which can lead to health impacts for everyone, the CDC said.

The National Weather Service said most of the areas hardest hit by the heat wave will begin to see relief Monday, but stifling conditions will continue in the Southeast and Southern Plains.

Temperatures along the coast remained comfortable and in the low 70s in San Francisco and Alameda in Northern California and in the high 70s in Manhattan Beach and Ventura in Southern California. Temperatures in Southern California reached over 90 degrees in Riverside and up to 106 in Palm Desert.

In the United States, extreme heat kills more people than hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters. More than 2,300 Americans died of heat-related illnesses last year, the most in 45 years of record-keeping, according to the CDC. That’s up from about 1,700 heat-related deaths in 2022 and 1,600 in 2021.

People become ill from the heat when their bodies can’t naturally cool off due to a combination of factors, including high humidity. When the humidity is high, sweat doesn’t evaporate as quickly and keeps the body from releasing heat as fast as it may need.

Personal factors such as age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug and alcohol use all can affect the ability of the body to naturally cool off.

To avoid heat-related illnesses, including heat exhaustion, health officials advise people to limit time outdoors if possible during the heat of the day, and be sure to drink plenty of water and wear loose-fitting clothes and a hat.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Public health officials are urging residents to stay hydrated, find shade, and take breaks to avoid heat exhaustion as temperatures soar across much of central and northern California.

San Francisco could see temperatures in the 80s (about 28 Celsius) while inland areas could top 100 (about 38 Celsius) as a high pressure system builds Sunday to Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

“Heat Risk concerns are not just in the Bay Area, but a large portion of Northern California and the Central Valley,” the NWS Bay Area tweeted Sunday. Over 9 million people are under a heat advisory or excessive heat warning.

With the soaring temperatures comes an increased risk of wildfires in the state where vegetation is extremely dry after a winter and spring with relatively little rain and snow.

California’s power grid operator said Saturday it’s not anticipating energy supply outages during the heat wave.

There’s enough electricity to serve the expected spike in demand, California Independent System Operator said in a statement, but it will monitor the grid closely in case it needs to call on the public to conserve.

ISO has said the state is better prepared to avoid last summer’s rotating blackouts.

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