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David Valadao | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Chair of theRepublican Governance Group | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | David Joyce |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | TJ Cox |
| Constituency | 21st district (2021–2023) 22nd district (2023–present) |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Devin Nunes |
| Succeeded by | TJ Cox |
| Constituency | 21st district |
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the30th district | |
| In office December 6, 2010 – November 30, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Danny Gilmore |
| Succeeded by | Luis Alejo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Goncalves Valadao (1977-04-14)April 14, 1977 (age 48) Hanford, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | College of the Sequoias |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
David Goncalves Valadao (/ˌvæləˈdeɪoʊ/VAL-ə-DAY-oh; born April 14, 1977)[1] is an American politician and dairy farmer serving as theU.S. representative forCalifornia's 22nd congressional district since 2023. His district comprises part of theSan Joaquin Valley. A member of theRepublican Party, Valadao first won election in2012 inCalifornia's 21st congressional district.[2] He narrowly lost in2018 toTJ Cox, but was reelected in2020. Before his election to Congress, Valadao served one term in theCalifornia State Assembly, representing the30th district from 2010 to 2012.
Valadao was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeachDonald Trump during Trump'ssecond impeachment[3][4][5] and one of two of those Republicans to be renominated and reelected, along withDan Newhouse (WA-4).
Valadao defeatedDemocratic nominee California assemblymanRudy Salas for the 22nd congressional district in a rematch in 2024.[6]
Valadao was born and raised inHanford, California.[1] His parents arePortuguese immigrants; his father grew up on theAzores Islands. In a 2013 interview, Valadao said his parents were initially registered Democrats but later switched to the Republican Party.[7]
Valadao graduated fromHanford High School in 1995.[8] From 1996 to 1998[9] he attended theCollege of the Sequoias inVisalia as a part-time student but did not graduate.[10]
Valadao's father established adairy farm inKings County, California, in 1969. Valadao and his brother became partners in Valadao Dairy in 1992.[10] He has been a member of theCalifornia Milk Advisory Board, Western States Dairy Trade Association, and Regional Leadership Council chairman forLand O' Lakes.[11]
In March 2018, Valadao, a general partner of Triple V Dairy, was named in two lawsuits against the dairy for defaulting on almost $9 million in loans and failing to pay a supplier.[12] In June 2018, a bank seized the dairy and sold it off to pay its debts. Valadao said, "Like so many family dairy farms across the country, burdensome government regulations made it impossible for the operation to remain open."[13] After a lawsuit in 2019, Valadao agreed to pay $325,000 to former employees who claimed they had been denied breaks,minimum wage, andovertime pay.[14][15] The settlement was not paid due to Valadao and Triple V Dairy filing for bankruptcy.[15]
Valadao announced his candidacy forCalifornia's 30th State Assembly district after the 2010 retirement of Republican assemblymanDanny Gilmore. He defeated Stephanie Campbell in the Republican primary, 78%–22%.[16] In the general election, he defeatedShafter mayorFran Florez, 61%–39%.[17][18]
In August 2011, Valadao announced that he would seek the Republican nomination forCalifornia's 21st congressional district.[19] The district had previously been the 20th District, represented by four-term DemocratJim Costa, but redistricting had shifted most of the district's share of Fresno to the new 16th District, and Costa sought reelection there.
In the June 5 open primary, he ranked first with 57% of the vote, ahead of Democrat John Hernandez – the head of the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce – andFresnoCity Councilman Blong Xiong.[20] In the November 6 general election he defeated Hernandez, 58%–42%.[21] AWall Street Journal op-ed cited his victory in a district that had long been held by Democrats as a potential template for the GOP, while other analysts cited his opponent's "weakness as a candidate and a campaigner" as playing a major role.[22]
Valadao ran for reelection in November 2014. His challengers were DemocratAmanda Renteria, a former political aide toDianne Feinstein andDebbie Stabenow,[23] and John Hernandez, the Democratic nominee Valadao defeated in 2012.[24] In the June 3 primary Valadao finished first once again with 63% of the vote, and received majorities of 60% or higher in every county except forKern. In the November 4 general election, he was reelected with 58% of the vote.[25]
Valadao ran for reelection to a third term in 2016. His first challenger was Democrat Daniel Parra, the mayor pro tem ofFowler, California.[26] Another Democratic challenger was Connie Perez, an accountant inPasadena, California, who grew up in Tulare, but due to issues regarding her residency outside of the district, as well as an alleged recent change in party affiliation, Perez dropped out less than a month after announcing her candidacy.[27][28] In January 2016 Emilio Huerta, son ofUnited Farm Workers co-founderDolores Huerta, announced his candidacy in the race as a Democrat.[29] In the June 7 primary Valadao finished first with 54% of the vote and Huerta finished second with 24.2%.[30][31] In the general election Valadao was reelected with 56.7% of the vote to Huerta's 43.3%.[32]
In 2018, Valadao was initially set to face Huerta again in a rematch, with Huerta announcing his bid in May 2017.[33] However, in March 2018, Huerta suspended his campaign for lack of funds.[34][35] After Huerta's withdrawal, engineerTJ Cox ofFresno announced that he would challenge Valadao.[36] Cox had previously announced a challenge to Republican congressmanJeff Denham in the10th district before switching to Valadao's seat.[37]
Valadao declared victory on November 6 after theAssociated Press initially called the race in his favor, but a large number of mail-in ballots gave Cox a very narrow lead. Cox officially won the race on November 28,[38] and Valadao conceded on December 6.[39] The final count showed that Cox won by 862 votes. It was one of the last U.S. House races to be decided in the 2018 cycle.[40]
Valadao ran for and won his former seat in 2020,[41] defeating Cox in a rematch by 1,754 votes, 51% to 49%.[42] This occurred even thoughJoe Biden carried the district by ten points.[43]
In June 2022, Valadao placed second in the open primary for California's redistricted22nd congressional district, advancing to the November general election.[44][45][46] Despite Valadao's vote to impeach President Trump, Trump did not involve himself in Valadao's primary and House minority leaderKevin McCarthy endorsed Valadao.[45][47] According to theLos Angeles Times, the GOP declined to support a challenger because Valadao holds a seat in a Democratic-leaning district that "can't be won by any other Republican".[48] Far-right Republican Chris Mathys ran in the primary. A Democratic campaign ad criticized Valadao for his impeachment vote, as part of a larger strategy of helping Mathys to make for higher chances of a Democratic candidate winning the seat.[49]
Valadao faced state assemblymanRudy Salas, a Democrat, in the November general election.[45] Valadao defeated Salas in the general election, 52% to 48%.[50][51] Valadao's victory made him one of just two House Republicans who supported impeachingDonald Trump to remain in Congress after the 2022 election, alongsideDan Newhouse of Washington.[52]
In the March 5, 2024 open primary, Valadao received approximately 33% of the vote to secure a place in the general election in November 2024.[53] Rudy Salas received the next highest percentage of votes, with approximately 31%, and will again be Valadao's challenger. On November 12, 2024, theAssociated Press declared Valadao the winner, winning approximately 53.5% of the vote.[54]
For the118th Congress:[55]
AfterDonald Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in May 2016, Valadao said he would support his candidacy. He rescinded his support in June 2016, declining to endorse Trump and saying he could not support a candidate who "denigrates people based on their ethnicity, religion, or disabilities."[63]
In February 2017, Valadao voted against a resolution that would have directed the House to request ten years of Trump's tax returns, which would then have been reviewed by theHouse Ways and Means Committee in a closed session.[64]
On January 13, 2021, Valadao was one of ten Republicans who voted for thesecond impeachment of Donald Trump for inciting theinsurrection at the U.S. Capitol.[3][4] Valadao later said that despite misgivings about the process that the Democrats used to send the impeachment article to the floor, he felt he had to "go with my gut and vote my conscience" and vote to impeach. He called Trump a "driving force" behind the riots and concluded that his rhetoric at the rally preceding the riots was "un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense."[65][66]
On May 19, 2021, Valadao was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish theJanuary 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.[67]
In response to PresidentBarack Obama's repeated assertion that the2011 California drought was caused byglobal warming, Valadao said that "climate change has nothing to do with the drought" and thatObama administration regulations had worsened the drought.[68]
In 2017, Valadao was blacklisted byAzerbaijan for taking part in a visit toArmenia and a disputed, breakaway region ofNagorno-Karabakh, which is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians.[69]
Valadao favored repealing theAffordable Care Act. On May 4, 2017, he voted to repeal it and to pass theAmerican Health Care Act (AHCA).[70][71][72] He was one of three co-sponsors of a last-minute amendment that added $8 billion to fundhigh-risk pools for patients withpre-existing conditions.[73] The revised version of AHCA allowed states to get waivers to allow insurers to charge individuals with preexisting conditions more if the individual has had a gap in insurance coverage.[74]
In 2017, Valadao introduced H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, "to grant presumptiveAgent Orange exposure status to U.S. service members who served in the territorial seas ofVietnam during theVietnam War. This would enable eligible veterans to receive expedited consideration forVeterans Affairs (VA) benefits if they suffer from any of the diseases the U.S. Government has linked to Agent Orange." In August 2017, Valadao and RepresentativeJoe Courtney sent a letter urging the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans have access to medical care from the VA.[75] That same year, Valadao and RepresentativeJeff Denham introduced the Assessing Critical Care Efforts to Strengthen Services Act. It would correct California'sMedicaid reimbursement method to encourage physicians to operate in the Central Valley and ensure patient access to doctors and specialists.[76] Also in 2017, Valadao and five other members of Congress introduced the Training the Next Generation of Primary Care Doctors Act of 2017, which would reauthorize the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program. It would expand existing programs at health centers and establish new teaching health centers.[77]
In 2025, Valadao withheld his support for a House resolution to cut at least $1.5 trillion from the federal budget, citing concerns aboutMedicaid reductions. He was one of eight House Republicans to publicly push SpeakerMike Johnson not to slash the benefit.[78][79] Valadao ultimately voted for the budget resolution after winning reassurances from House leadership that cost savings "would focus on Medicaid fraud, while not touching benefits for those eligible for the program."[80]
In a May 2025 article entitled "The key Republican warning about a megabill Medicaid fallout",Politico profiled Valadao's behind the scenes efforts "to rein in his party's ambitions to cut Medicaid spending." Valadao's congressional district has more Medicaid beneficiaries than any other Republican-held district. Valadao spearheaded a letter signed by a dozen vulnerable Republican members urging House leadership not to make major cuts to Medicaid. Valadao said "We're going through this partisan exercise to do what is supposed to be a tax bill, and it's becoming a health care bill, which is what we're trying to avoid, on an issue that desperately needs reform to make it better."[81] In July 2025 Valadao voted in favor of the budget reconciliation bill, saying "It was not an easy decision for me, but I voted yes on the budget reconciliation bill."[82]
In 2016, Valadao voted for a measure that banned discrimination againstLGBT employees by federal contractors.[83] In 2015, Valadao did not join many other prominent California Republicans in signing aU.S. Supreme Court brief in favor ofsame-sex marriage.[84]
On July 19, 2022, Valadao and 46 other Republican U.S. representatives voted for theRespect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.[85]
Valadao supports comprehensive immigration reform.[86][87] He has also cosponsored theAmerican Families United Act.[88]
In August 2014, he broke ranks with the Republican Party and voted against a bill that would have dismantled theDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.[89]
On February 23, 2017, Valadao called for a bipartisan solution to the U.S. immigration system. Later in 2017, he and nine other lawmakers wrote to Speaker of the HousePaul Ryan asking for legislation to address DACA's future.[90]
In June 2018, Valadao released a statement about the Department of Justice's "zero tolerance" policy, which involved separating children and parents at the Mexican border. "The substantial increase of minors at our southern border is both a humanitarian and national security crisis," he wrote. "While we must work towards a solution that reduces the occurrence of illegal border crossings, it is unacceptable to separate young children from their parents. This is exactly why passage of a compromise solution, such as that being discussed in Congress right now, is absolutely necessary."[91]
In December 2017, Valadao voted in favor of theTax Cuts and Jobs Act.[92]
Valadao has criticized theTrump administration's imposition of tariffs against Chinese steel and aluminum imports, which prompted China to impose retaliatory tariffs on a range of U.S. agriculture products. In May 2018, he sent a letter toUnited States trade representativeRobert Lighthizer expressing concern over the tariffs' impact on theCentral Valley's economy, writing, "Not only do the proposed tariffs fail to adequately remedy China's unfair practices, such tariffs seriously jeopardize our farmers' access to export markets, which accounts for roughly twenty percent of their production."[93]
In 2013, Valadao was one of 15 House Republicans to vote against a Republican-backed bill to make deep cuts infood stamp spending.[94]
| Primary election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Republican | David Valadao | 27,251 | 57.0 | ||
| Democratic | John Hernandez | 10,575 | 22.1 | ||
| Democratic | Blong Xiong | 9,990 | 20.9 | ||
| Total votes | 47,816 | 100.0 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Republican | David Valadao | 67,164 | 57.8 | ||
| Democratic | John Hernandez | 49,119 | 42.2 | ||
| Total votes | 116,283 | 100.0 | |||
| Republicanwin (new seat) | |||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 28,773 | 63.0 | |
| Democratic | Amanda Renteria | 11,682 | 25.6 | |
| Democratic | John Hernandez | 5,232 | 11.5 | |
| Total votes | 45,687 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 45,907 | 57.8 | |
| Democratic | Amanda Renteria | 33,470 | 42.2 | |
| Total votes | 79,377 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 37,367 | 54.0 | |
| Democratic | Emilio Huerta | 16,743 | 24.2 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Parra | 15,056 | 21.8 | |
| Total votes | 69,166 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 75,126 | 56.7 | |
| Democratic | Emilio Huerta | 57,282 | 43.3 | |
| Total votes | 132,408 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 34,290 | 62.8 | |
| Democratic | TJ Cox | 20,293 | 37.2 | |
| Total votes | 54,583 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | TJ Cox | 57,239 | 50.4 | |
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 56,377 | 49.6 | |
| Total votes | 113,616 | 100.0 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | David Valadao | 39,488 | 49.7 | |
| Democratic | TJ Cox (incumbent) | 30,697 | 38.7 | |
| Democratic | Ricardo De La Fuente | 7,309 | 9.2 | |
| Republican | Rocky De La Fuente | 1,912 | 2.4 | |
| Total votes | 79,406 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | David Valadao | 85,373 | 50.4 | |
| Democratic | TJ Cox (incumbent) | 83,619 | 49.6 | |
| Total votes | 169,292 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Rudy Salas | 25,337 | 45.2 | |
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 14,331 | 25.6 | |
| Republican | Chris Mathys | 13,111 | 23.4 | |
| Republican | Adam Medeiros | 3,250 | 5.8 | |
| Total votes | 56,029 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 52,472 | 51.6 | |
| Democratic | Rudy Salas | 49,196 | 48.4 | |
| Total votes | 101,668 | 100.0 | ||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 20,479 | 32.7 | |
| Democratic | Rudy Salas | 19,592 | 31.3 | |
| Republican | Chris Mathys | 13,745 | 22.0 | |
| Democratic | Melissa Hurtado | 8,733 | 14.0 | |
| Total votes | 62,549 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | David Valadao (incumbent) | 89,484 | 53.4 | |
| Democratic | Rudy Salas | 78,023 | 46.6 | |
| Total votes | 167,507 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
In August 2014, theUnited States Chamber of Commerce awarded Valadao its Spirit of Enterprise Award.[86] He won the same award again in 2016.[100]
Valadao lives in Hanford with his wife, Terra, and their three children.[101] He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.[7] Valadao is aCatholic.[102]
During his first tenure in the House, Valadao consistently ranked as the poorest member of Congress bynet worth, with over $17.5 million in debt in 2018, mainly loans to his family's dairy farm.[103][104]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 21st congressional district 2013–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 21st congressional district 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 22nd congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of theRepublican Governance Group 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 157th | Succeeded by |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
