With most of the votes still to be counted, California Rep. David Valadao, who voted to impeach President Trump in 2021, was 1,100 votes ahead of the former Fresno city councilman who vowed vengeance for the former president on Wednesday morning. Democrat Rudy Salas held 48 percent of the vote in the “jungle” primary and was assured to advancing to the general election.
The Central Valley district was rated as a toss-up for the Nov. 8 general election and could help determine the size of Republican gains in the House. Valadao, a dairy farmer, is a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee in charge of USDA and FDA spending. The reapportioned district has far more Democrats than Republicans, according to party registration, but Valadao is well-known in the 22nd House District, which stretches from Hanford to beyond Bakersfield. He said he would provide “strong, practical leadership in Congress.
Trump and his allies stayed out of the race.
Valadao had 25.6 percent of the vote with two Republicans challenging him and Salas far in the lead with 21 percent of precincts reporting. Chris Mathys, whose campaign site declares, “I will do everything in my power to defeat Congressman David Valadao, who voted to impeach President Trump,” had 19.5 percent of the vote and Adam Medeiros had 6.5 percent.
It can take days to resolve close races in California since mail-in ballots will be counted if they are postmarked by election day and reach election offices within a week, or June 14 this year. California puts all candidates onto the same slate in the primary and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.
In Iowa, Democrats chose retired admiral Michael Franken in a near-landslide over former Rep. Abby Finkenauer as their nominee against Republican Sen Chuck Grassley. The seventh-term Grassley, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is favored to win in the general election. Franken took 55 percent and Finkenauer 40 percent of the vote in the three-way Democratic primary.
South Dakota Republicans chose Sen. John Thune and Rep. Dusty Johnson over challengers in their primary election. Both are Agriculture Committee members and Thune is the second-ranking Republican in Senate leadership.
In Montana, former Interior secretary Ryan Zinke held a small lead over Al Olszewski in a five-way race for the Republican nomination in a newly created House district.