CBS News projected that Republican Rep. David Valadao lost California’s 22nd District to Democrat Randy Villegas. Valadao had voted to impeach President Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, and his defeat means all House Republicans in that group have now either lost reelection or announced retirement. The race followed a competitive Democratic primary and took place in a heavily Hispanic district under a congressional map redrawn last year. Speaker Mike Johnson had campaigned with Valadao, calling the contest one of the country’s most important races for Republicans seeking to retain the House majority. The excerpt gives no vote totals, certification schedule, or further election oversight details.
TLDR: Randy Villegas is projected to have defeated David Valadao in California’s 22nd District. Valadao’s loss leaves no House Republican who voted to impeach Trump still seeking reelection or remaining in Congress without announcing retirement.
Republican Rep. David Valadao has lost his reelection bid in California’s 22nd District, CBS News projected. Democrat Randy Villegas won the contest, according to the projection. Valadao’s defeat makes him the last House Republican who voted to impeach President Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol to lose reelection or announce retirement.
The excerpt provides no official policy rationale for the result. It reports an election outcome and describes the political circumstances surrounding the race. Voters in the district chose between Valadao and Villegas after both advanced from California’s top-two nonpartisan primary.
Valadao was first elected to the House in 2012. He lost his seat in 2018, when Democrats flipped more than 40 seats and regained control of the chamber. He won the seat back from Democrats in 2020. After returning to Congress, he became one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.
The result leaves only two of those 10 Republicans in Congress, according to the excerpt: Valadao and Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington. Newhouse is retiring. Valadao’s projected loss therefore marks the end of the electoral careers of the House Republicans in that group who had not already lost reelection or announced retirement.
Villegas is described as a progressive Democrat. He advanced to the general election by edging out a moderate Democrat in the top-two primary. That primary result was a defeat for establishment Democrats, who intervened in the Central Valley contest to support the moderate candidate. The intraparty dispute set up a general-election contest between Villegas and Valadao.
The district is heavily Hispanic, a constituency that shifted away from Democrats in 2024, the excerpt says. The race also unfolded amid a wider debate inside the Democratic Party about the performance of progressive candidates in competitive contests. Polls before the midterms showed Trump’s approval ratings with Latino voters were falling sharply. Those details describe several political factors in the district, but the excerpt does not establish which factor determined the result.
California’s congressional map was redrawn last year after Republicans pursued mid-decade redistricting in Texas. The new map made California’s districts more favorable to Democrats than they had been in 2024, according to the excerpt. That change formed part of the electoral backdrop for Valadao’s race. No district-level vote totals or margin of victory are provided in the material.
The contest drew attention from national Republican leaders because of its potential importance to control of the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents Louisiana, campaigned with Valadao in September. Johnson called it one of the “top three or four races in America” in terms of importance to Republicans keeping their House majority.
Valadao’s career in the district has included both a loss and a return to office. The 2018 defeat came during a broader Democratic gain in the House. His 2020 victory restored him to Congress, where his impeachment vote later became a defining part of his record in the account of this race. The new projection closes that chapter, while the excerpt does not provide further details about Valadao’s plans after leaving office.
The practical impact described here is limited to the election result and its political consequences. There are no fees, forms, compliance requirements, enforcement measures, or policy deadlines in the excerpt. The directly affected officeholder is Valadao, who is projected to leave the seat, while Villegas is the Democratic candidate who defeated him. The material does not describe changes to services or costs for district residents.
The projection establishes the reported outcome, but the excerpt provides no vote count, recount information, certification schedule, or oversight process. Those details remain unspecified in the supplied material. The next steps and any official election oversight are not described, so no further timetable can be stated from the available account.
The result also does not settle every question raised by the campaign. Without vote totals, the account does not show how close the race was or how support differed across the district. And without more evidence, it cannot show whether the map, the candidates’ positions, the party dispute, or national politics mattered most to voters. The projection identifies the winner, while the available information leaves those explanations open. It also gives no details about what either candidate plans to do after the election.
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