FRESNO, Calif. – A Democratic national political action committee is looking to flip vulnerable Republican seats in Congress in the next elections, including one seat in the San Joaquin Valley.
EMILYs LIST released a list of target seats on Wednesday as it begins to lay the groundwork for the 2026 midterm elections. Among 46 House seats in their list is the one currently occupied by Republican congressman David Valadao of Hanford.
The president of EMILYs LIST said in a statement announcing the campaign that the group hopes to defeat Republicans who it says are “in lockstep” with the “Trump-Musk” agenda.
Valadao represents a Democratic-leaning Valley district. After he was first elected in 2012, he lost his seat in 2018 to former Democratic congressman TJ Cox, but regained it in 2020. He has managed to hold on ever since, despite persistent challenges by Democrats. The most recent challenge in November was by Democrat Rudy Salas. Salas lost by roughly seven points.
Valadao has remained a largely moderate Republican. He even voted to impeach President Trump in 2021 over the president’s role in the January 6th riots.
But issues like Medicaid cuts proposed by Republicans could have significant local impacts. And those have put Valadao back in the hot seat.
A New York Times analysis found Valadao’s district has the highest Medicaid enrollment in the country.
Progressive House Democrat Ro Khanna visited Valadao’s district on Sunday – in a tour of districts held by Republicans – in order to rally to protect Medicaid.
Khanna spoke to a crowd in Bakersfield, where he said cuts to Medicaid – known in California as Medi-Cal – would be “a death sentence” for those enrolled in the government-subsidized healthcare program.
Before Khanna’s visit, several progressive groups also held a town hall that they unsuccessfully invited Valadao to attend.
“Community members have a lot of questions,” Justine Santos, an advocate with the nonprofit Power CA Action, told KVPR ahead of the town hall. “Is their Medi-Cal threatened? Are they going to have healthcare?”
EMILYs LIST is also targeting three other California Republicans, including Reps. Kevin Kiley, Young Kim and Ken Calvert.
KVPR reporter Joshua Yeager contributed reporting.
