Another Fresno-area Democrat seeks to unseat David Valadao in Congress. Can he win?
Another newcomer to politics has entered the race for U.S. House District 21 held by Rep. David Valadao in California’s central San Joaquin Valley.
Democrat Angel Lara announced his intentions to run on Wednesday in a race with multiple challengers despite some uncertainty about how districts will look after the state lost a seat in Congress.
He becomes the fourth challenger in the competitive district. Republican Chris Mathys and two others Democrats, Bryan Osorio and Nicole Parra, have previously filed for the race with the Federal Elections Commission.
“I’m a product of this district. I’m a product of my parents,” Lara said Wednesday. “I am extremely excited to be the face and to be doing this work in my community and my home.”
Valadao, R-Hanford, beat out Democrat incumbent TJ Cox for the 21st seat in November in a race that was too close to call for a couple of weeks after Election Day. Two years before that, Cox unseated Valadao for the same seat in another tight race.
Cox has said he’s waiting to see how the state’s districts are redrawn before he makes a decision on running this time.
Can Democrat Angel Lara win the election in California’s District 21?
A self-described “band nerd,” Lara graduated from Golden Valley High School in Bakersfield before getting his degree in public health at UC Berkeley.
The 25-year-old said he was a staffer for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office before returning to the Valley.
Lara said he believes his chances are good. Out of the district’s roughly 266,400 registered voters, 43% are registered Democrats, and 27% are registered Republicans.
“It’s a shame that we currently have a Republican in office in a district that Biden won,” he said. “It would be a shame if I didn’t step up.”
Lara noted Valadao voted against the American Rescue Plan and represents a historically underprivileged district. The 21st District’s poverty rate is 23.4%.
A son of immigrants, Lara said immigration reform and clean drinking water in the region are also high on his list of issues. He said he’s witnessed the effects firsthand while not being able to drink from the water fountain growing up for fear of contaminants and seeing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stop people and separate families.
The state of California lost a seat in the House this year. So it’s not clear what Valadao’s district will look like in 2022, as a bipartisan California commission still has to announce the new lines.
If the district shifted more towards Tulare and away from Fresno, there could be a greater number of Republican voters. Other policy wonks argue Southern California has changed the most, so will see the shift in districts.
Lara said he would charge on without a defined map. “What it comes down to is this district can’t wait for that map to come out,” he said. “My intent is to start now.”
The day of his announcement was also the first day Lara could begin to raise funds. His election coffer officially has zero donations, and he has something of a mountain to climb if he is going to match the incumbent.
Lara said he would seek donations from citizens and won’t accept contributions from corporate political action committees.
Valadao has about $450,000 in contributions on hand, according to FEC filings. The next biggest earner at this stage of the race is fellow Republican Mathys, who has more than $100,000.
Parra has raised $30,000, and Osorio has not yet reported any contributions to the FEC.
