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David Valadao
CA · District 22
In plain English: Represents California District 22 in the U.S. House of Representatives. House members vote on federal laws and spending.
Term
2025-01-03 – 2027-01-03
Next election
2026-11-03Cook Political Report rates CA-22 Toss-up (current through Oct 9, 2026; Toss-up since Nov 2025); Democrat Randy Villegas, a community college professor, is the challenger; the redrawn district has a D+1 partisan lean and is over 65% Latino.
Running for
U.S. House (CA-22), re-election
Committees
House Committee on Appropriations; Chair, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch (Appropriations); Subcommittee on Defense (Appropriations); Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Appropriations); House Committee on Agriculture (joined March 2026, filling the vacancy left by Rep. Doug LaMalfa)
David Valadao (born April 14, 1977) is a Republican dairy farmer from Hanford, California, representing California's 22nd Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. His family emigrated from the Azores (Portugal) in 1969, and he grew up working on the family dairy. He served in the California State Assembly (2010-2012), was first elected to the U.S. House in 2012, lost in 2018, and regained the seat in 2020. His district is heavily agricultural, anchored by Bakersfield and Hanford, and leans D+1 after 2026 redistricting.
Bio source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Valadao
1. Follow the money, in plain English
What we don’t have yet: verified donor records for this leader. Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
Every money claim on this page carries its source and its confidence level; the full item-by-item money record is in the evidence below.
2. What they promised
Each promise is tracked against documented votes and actions. A status is set only from the record; where a promise has not been tested yet, the card says so.
- PROMISEIn progress
"To be an independent member of Congress who will stand up to the divisive partisanship in Washington D.C., get things done to grow our local economy, and deliver more water for our farmers and communities." (2026 campaign statement, via Ballotpedia News.) Status so far: On March 17, 2026 he announced California would receive $540 million to support critical water storage and conveyance projects across the state. On Sept. 4, 2026 he and Rep. Vince Fong condemned the State Water Resources Control Board's Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, saying an unelected board was telling farmers, workers, and businesses that their water needs come last.
- PROMISEIn progress
Repeatedly asserted in 2025 that he would not support any measure that would harm recipients of Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program; a week before the vote he released a statement saying he would move to block the Senate's version of H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) if it came back to the House. On July 2, 2025 he voted aye on H.R. 1 each time it came before him. (Per Beacon Journal reporting CalMatters, July 17, 2025.) Status so far: In July 2025, before his vote for H.R. 1, he said programs should be sustainable, meaning taking care of those who need it most. On May 15, 2026 he said one of his goals is to protect Medicaid for seniors, vulnerable children, and disabled Americans, and that he voted to include exemptions for Californians facing serious medical issues, economic hardship, or high unemployment.
- PROMISEIn progress
Urging ICE and CBP to prioritize the removal of known criminals over hardworking farmworkers and long-settled Valley residents; and a broader pledge to work on immigration reform creating a pathway to earned legal status for hardworking contributors to the economy (statements Jan 2025, June 2025, May 2026). Status so far: On Jan. 14, 2025 he urged administrations to ensure CBP prioritizes targeting criminals rather than those responsible for producing the nation's food supply, and in June 2025 he said he was urging the administration to prioritize removal of known criminals over hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years. In May 2026 he was an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, reintroduced that month, and also cosponsored the 2026 DIGNIDAD Act.
- PROMISEIn progress
I promised my constituents that I would fight to secure a reliable and clean supply of water for our communities. Status so far: On March 17, 2026 he announced California would receive $540 million for critical storage and conveyance projects, calling it the most significant water investment California has ever seen. On Sept. 4, 2026 he condemned the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan in a joint statement with Rep. Vince Fong.
3. The evidence
Everything on this page comes from the record below, grouped so you can find things: what they said, what they did, money and influence, and what happened after. Every item carries its date, its source, and the date we last verified it.
Open the full record ↓
What they said
- STATEMENT
"After nearly a year of work, I'm proud to announce California will receive $540 million to support critical storage and conveyance projects across the state, the most significant water investment California has ever seen."
- STATEMENT
With Rep. Vince Fong, condemned the State Water Resources Control Board's Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan as a "bait and switch": "An unelected board in Sacramento is once again telling farmers, workers, and businesses that their water needs come last." (Fair paraphrase with short verbatim quote.)
- STATEMENT
"I have been in contact with Customs and Border Protection regarding the recent immigration enforcement actions in Kern County, and I was informed these operations were focused on apprehending known criminals or those with ties to criminal organizations in our community... I urge the Biden Administration, and future administrations, to ensure CBP prioritizes targeting criminals rather than those responsible for producing our nation's food supply." (Truncated verbatim; full text at source.)
- STATEMENT
"I remain concerned about ongoing ICE operations throughout CA and will continue my conversations with the administration, urging them to prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years."
- STATEMENT
"Farmworkers are the backbone of the agriculture industry, and ICE should prioritize removing known criminals over the hardworking people who contribute to our communities and the economy." (Valadao was an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, reintroduced May 2026; he also cosponsored the 2026 DIGNIDAD Act.)
- STATEMENT
"Polling shows that the majority of Americans want us to have our programs to be sustainable. Sustainable means taking care of those who need it most, and those who should be working in part of society and being productive should be. And it's not an unfair ask." (Before his vote for H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.)
- STATEMENT
"One of my goals representing the Central Valley is to protect Medicaid for those who truly need it the most: seniors, vulnerable children, and disabled Americans. That's why I voted to include commonsense exemptions for Californians facing serious medical issues, economic hardship, or high unemployment."
- STATEMENT
"By dumping garlic into our market, Chinese importers have long inflicted serious economic harm, especially, on our California producers. With this legislation, we are ensuring that the federal government lives up to its responsibilities not only to prevent dumping, but also to provide the proper remedy to our producers of American agriculture." (On his bill to pay collected antidumping duties to U.S. producers.)
- STATEMENT
"As the sole dairyman in Congress, I'm proud to join my colleagues in launching the Congressional Dairy Caucus. Dairy is the cornerstone of the Central Valley's economy, and I know firsthand the challenges our producers face, from rising input costs and labor shortages to changing consumer demands and an increasingly unpredictable marketplace."
- STATEMENT
"To pretend that Iran is the first reason why fuel prices are going up is false."
What they did
- VOTE
H.R. 8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 Yea on On Passage (Roll Call Vote 278) (passed 216-212)
- VOTE
H.R. 7008: Stop Insider Trading Act (barring members, spouses, dependent children from buying publicly traded stock) Yea on On Passage (Roll Call Vote 280) (passed 232-198)
- VOTE
H.Con.Res. 89: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran Nay on On Agreeing to the Resolution (Roll Call Vote 282) (passed 214-208)
- VOTE
H.Con.Res. 93: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (second Goodlander-led resolution; seven Republicans voted Yea) Nay on On Agreeing to the Resolution (Roll Call Vote 307) (passed 220-204)
- VOTE
H.R. 4405: Epstein Files Transparency Act (compels DOJ release of unclassified Epstein investigation files; signed into law Nov 19, 2025) Aye on On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass (Roll Call Vote 289) (passed 427-1 (only Rep. Clay Higgins voted no))
- FACT
H.R. 4249, Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2026 (sponsored; introduced 2025-06-30; Valadao chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch).
- FACT
H.R. 10324, Rooting Out Mislabeled Agriculture (ROMA) Act (introduced 2026-09-08 with Reps. Mike Thompson, David Rouzer, Jim Costa, James Gallagher, and Don Davis; would authorize USDA's Agricultural Research Service to use isotopic testing to verify the country of origin of imported tomato products).
- FACT
H.R. 6315, SECURE IT Act (sponsored; introduced 2025-11-25).
Money and influence
- DATA UNAVAILABLE
Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
- FACT
Chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch in the 119th Congress, and also sits on the Defense and Agriculture/FDA Appropriations subcommittees (per his House office announcement).
- FACT
Member of the Main Street Caucus (current 119th Congress membership listing).
- FACT
Co-chair of the relaunched bipartisan Congressional Dairy Caucus (July 2026), describing himself as "the sole dairyman in Congress."
- FACT
Joined the House Committee on Agriculture in March 2026, filling the seat of the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa (per Feed & Grain).
What happened after
No outcomes recorded yet.
None documented (checked 2026-10-10).
Sources
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- U.S. House Clerk
- valadao.house.gov
- valadao.house.gov
- valadao.house.gov
- valadao.house.gov
- congress.gov
- congress.gov
- kffhealthnews.org
- kioncentralcoast.com
- rssfeeds.cloudsite.builders
- cw7az.com
- ufw.org
- fresnoland.org
- riponadvance.com
- riponadvance.com
- californiadairymagazine.com
- feedandgrain.com
- agri-pulse.com
- beaconjournal.com
- news.ballotpedia.org
- en.wikipedia.org
- en.wikipedia.org
Evidence
Related receipts
No receipts filed for this leader yet.
Every factual item carries its source, date, and last-verified stamp. Items marked unavailable are genuinely missing. Never filled in.