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One of the most competitive primary races for Congress right now is a swing district in California's Central Valley. Democrats there are hoping to flip a seat long held by Republican David Valadao. But first, they need a nominee. With just days until the primary, the party's two candidates are competing for who can appeal to the most voters as the national Democratic Party contemplates its identity. KVPR's Kerry Klein reports.
KERRY KLEIN, BYLINE: It's a warm spring night in the central California town of Hanford.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
KLEIN: Kids are playing soccer, an ice cream truck rolls by and Democratic congressional candidate Randy Villegas is out knocking on doors.
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KLEIN: He walks up to a house with a fountain on the front steps.
RANDY VILLEGAS: My name is Randy Villegas. I'm running for Congress against Republican David Valadao. And I just want to introduce myself.
KLEIN: This district is purple. David Valadao, who's a Republican, has won six of the last seven congressional elections here. On this night, Villegas' messages supporting universal health care and suspending federal gas taxes seem to resonate with voters.
VILLEGAS: You think I can count on your vote and your support?
UNIDENTIFIED VOTER #1: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED VOTER #2: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED VOTER #3: I could vote for you.
KLEIN: Villegas is a political science professor, serves on a local school board. On the trail, he says he refuses to accept campaign contributions from corporations. And if elected, he says his focus would be on supporting those he says have been ignored by Washington.
VILLEGAS: This isn't a fight about left versus right. It's a fight about bottom versus top and working families who've been left behind by politicians in both parties.
KLEIN: Type of messaging is gaining popularity among Democratic primary voters across the country, as they become increasingly frustrated with not just the Trump administration but also the Democratic establishment. Villegas earned endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who are supporting other Democratic candidates around the country as well. California State Assembly Member Jasmeet Bains is also running for the Democratic nomination here. She represents part of this district in the state legislature and is also a family doctor.
JASMEET BAINS: It's time we elect the physician to Congress.
KLEIN: In Sacramento, she's voted for Democratic priorities like supporting access to abortion rights and public school funding. But she also bucked her party on some prominent issues, including by voting against Democratic redistricting and against an effort to restrict oil industry profits. She says she listens to her constituents, many of whom voted for President Trump.
BAINS: The people that represent the valley understand the importance of standing up for the valley, not their party.
KLEIN: One thing she and Villegas have in common, they both scold Valadao for voting to slash Medicaid funding, even though his district has the highest Medicaid enrollment in the country.
BAINS: Him and the Republicans are trying to gaslight us into thinking, oh, this isn't going to impact you. No, sir, it is impacting us. It's already impacting us.
KLEIN: Although Bains doesn't always align herself with her party, she's been endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, also known as the DCCC. Andrew Godinich, a Democratic strategist, says he understands why the party's establishment supports her. In 2024, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris lost in Bains' district, and yet Bains won by a long shot.
ANDREW GODINICH: When you have a candidate who has shown they have an affinity with the independent voters and Democrats who have been turned off, it's important to give that candidate that key to win.
KLEIN: After all, he stresses the party's main goal is winning back the House this November. Ivy Cargile teaches political science at California State University, Bakersfield. She says this primary is being closely watched all over the country.
IVY CARGILE: The schism between these two candidates who are both under the Democratic Party label is emblematic of what is happening with the Democratic Party at the national level, where there is this tug-of-war for the identity of the party.
KLEIN: Here in California, the top two vote-getters in a primary advance to the general election regardless of party. Valadao will likely secure one of those spots. The other will be decided on June 2.
For NPR News, I'm Kerry Klein in Hanford, California. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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