BAKERSFIELD — Randy Villegas campaigned door-to-door in a Bakersfield neighborhood on May 23, 2026, as he competes for the Democratic nomination in California’s 22nd congressional district. The primary election is scheduled for June 2 to determine which candidate will face Republican David Valadao in the November general election.
Villegas, a 31-year-old community college professor and second-generation Mexican immigrant, has refused to accept corporate campaign donations and argues that candidates like Jasmeet Bains alienate voters by accepting such contributions and adhering to the political center on issues like healthcare. “We need to work to expand the electorate,” Villegas said in an interview. “For too long, Democrats have run Republican-lite campaigns. We can’t just offer that we’re not Trump. We have to stand for something.”
Villegas has outperformed Bains in fundraising and has received endorsements from the Democratic party chairs in all four counties within the district. Joshua Evans, the Democratic party chair in Tulare County, praised Villegas’s campaign presence, saying, “I don’t call myself a progressive, but the lesson in this district is that you won’t receive support unless you show up. Randy has been working his ass off. He knows every vote is going to matter, and every door knock makes a difference. People are sick and tired of the status quo.”
Bains, a doctor who continues to work weekend shifts at a community clinic in her Central Valley hometown, has been less visible on the campaign trail and has declined a recent opportunity to debate her rivals. She points to her work during the Covid pandemic, providing medical support to firefighters during wildfires and championing a fentanyl taskforce as part of her record. “People like the work I’m doing,” Bains said.
Bains, the first Sikh-American politician elected to the California state legislature and the first Asian American to serve in the state assembly, was re-elected to the legislature in 2024, outperforming other Democrats on the ballot by more than seven points. California’s 22nd congressional district is 75% Latino and has a median voter age of 30. Villegas wrote a doctoral thesis on low voter turnout among young Latinos.