Congressional candidates in the toss-up 22nd District took on issues ranging from illegal immigration to water infrastructure during a debate aired live on Bakersfield’s KGET-17 on Oct. 2.
GOP Rep. David Valadao defeated Democrat and former state Assemblymember Rudy Salas, also his current opponent, in 2022 by 887 votes.
Moderators opened the debate by asking how the candidates would take on illegal immigration, focusing on the fact that 50% of California farmworkers are undocumented.
Valadao blamed the Biden-Harris administration for having “dropped the ball and changed the way the border looked” and said the Assembly had passed the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which did not make it out of the Senate. He advocated for paths to citizenship, noting the Dignity Act and saying that he has passed farm worker modernization legislation.
When asked about his family’s dairy, Valadao said he had never employed an undocumented farmworker.
Salas, who does not list immigration as a priority on his website, said that he’s gone door to door and heard from constituents that they’re concerned about “rhetoric that’s coming from the other side.”
According to a KGET poll, 62% of voters in the 22nd District said they had to choose between groceries or utilities. Valadao stood by his vote against raising the federal minimum wage, saying that states are already establishing their own. He pointed to Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature for raising household costs, specifically mentioning the special session refinery bill.
The candidates agreed that California needs to be more affordable, but Salas pointed the finger at Congress’ inaction and Valadao’s vote against affordable housing and capping insulin costs.
Valadao countered that the state Legislature is stuck in a supermajority, arguing that Congress is “trying to prevent Sacramento's problems from flowing across the nation.”
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“You look at a trucking company or a dairy farm or any other farm,” Valadao said. “We've got people retiring and leaving the state because of the amount of bureaucratic tape that is being thrown at them on a regular basis. And again, it's because Sacramento's turned into a bill factory, and that's what they like to celebrate.”
Ryan Jacobson, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau, asked the candidates how they will increase water reliability in the Central Valley.
Valadao advocated bringing back the 2019 biological opinion that he hopes would allow for a water storage project in Shasta; he also wants to see headway in the Sites Reservoir project. Salas said he would prioritize funding for safe drinking water, water delivery and conveyance. He mentioned voting yes on California’s $7.5 billion water bond, which brought $2.7 billion directly to water storage projects in the valley.
High-speed rail was one of the final debate topics; both candidates have a history of opposing it despite it creating 9,000 valley jobs. Valadao has spoken on how it affected the town of Wasco, where a farmworker housing facility had been shut down. He found funds for replacement housing and encouraged the High Speed Rail Authority to shut down the previous facility, which he said was attracting unhoused individuals.
Salas had also voted against the rail and said the state was unwilling to negotiate how it would affect local communities.
Both candidates mentioned their ties to the valley. Salas grew up working on farms alongside his family and Valadao helps run his family’s two dairies.
