According to The Associated Press, Representative David Valadao, a Republican from California, won re-election on Monday. Valadao was able to survive politically despite his vote to impeach former President Donald J. Trump, a vote that cost some of his Republican colleagues their seats. Valadao’s victory shows that Republicans can win despite voting against their own party.
Mr. Valadao was successful in his campaign against Rudy Salas, a Democratic state assemblyman. The race took place in a contested district located in the Central Valley that was made more challenging for Republicans as a result of freshly drawn borders that slanted the district further to the left. After over two weeks had passed since Election Day, the winner was determined to be Mr. Valadao, who had a lead of more than three percentage points.
Due to Mr. Valadao’s triumph, he now finds himself in exclusive company, with the Representative from Washington, Dan Newhouse. After voting to impeach Mr. Trump in the aftermath of the violence that occurred in the Capitol, they are the only two Republicans in the House — out of a total of ten — who will continue to serve in Congress. The remaining candidates, such as Wyoming’s Representative Liz Cheney, were either defeated in the primary election or made the decision to retire.
In the open primary, which featured candidates of any political party, Mr. Salas had garnered around 20 points more votes than Mr. Valadao; nonetheless, the Republican was able to defeat two Republican competitors. Mr. Valadao, who had previously held the area from 2013 to 2019, had barely won back the seat in 2020 by less than a point against Representative T.J. Cox, who is a Democrat. The contest was always going to be close.
According to the nonpartisan political tracking organisation California Target Book, Republican political action committees, including the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is aligned with Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, spent more than $11 million in advertising for Mr. Valadao during the final month of the campaign.
During the most recent session of Congress, Mr. Valadao voted largely in accordance with the party he belonged to. For example, he opposed a bill to create a bipartisan infrastructure commission and a relief package proposed by the Democrats for those affected by pandemics. However, he voted against Mr. Trump’s impeachment. During his campaign, he focused on safeguarding employment and the economy, issues pertaining to agriculture, and providing for senior citizens.