Latest news with #CongressionalDistrict
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Support for Democratic candidates in pivotal CD-22 race takes shape
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The 2026 race for the California's 22nd Congressional District is heating up quickly. Last week, Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) declared her candidacy. Randy Villegas had already announced he was running for the seat held by Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), but on Monday, Villegas got the endorsement of a progressive Democratic organization. Villegas claims he's collected over 4,000 individual donations amounting to over $250,000 of campaign cash. The Working Families Party, or WFP, officially endorsed Villegas on Monday. They held a press conference outside David Valadao's Bakersfield office. 'I am the only candidate in this race that is corporate free that is not accountable to any corporate special interests,' Villegas said. 'And I think that matters, Democrat or Republican.' Villegas says the current representation for District 22 is inadequate for the needs of Central Valley residents. 'To say you are working on behalf of our farmworkers, our teachers, our police officers, our firefighters here in the district, and not billionaires in Washington, D.C,' he said. Villegas is facing Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains in next June's congressional primary. Bains is considered the front runner in the race. Neel Sannappa, an organizer for the Working Families Party, says Villegas is the candidate with the most grassroots values to compete with the incumbent Republican Congressman. 'We are a third party in the United States, but we are very strategic. A lot of the times, we will endorse Democrats or Independents, most of our endorsees here in California are Democrats. But, they are different. They are Democrats that don't take corporate money, that really advocate to bring politics back to the people, and that's why WFP endorsed Randy here today,' he said. For voters, Villegas says his platform will offer more progressive solutions to Central Valley's problems, such as housing and the cost of power. Voters like Johnny Olaguez say those issues and Villegas' lived experience in the Central Valley are what would make Villegas the best choice. 'What drew my attention was he said he was the son of a mechanic. My dad has a trucking company, right, so that's how I grew up as a mechanic as well. So, it's very personal to me,' Olaguez said. 'We need real people. People that represent our values, and the Valley as a whole, not interests of big corporations.' While the Democrats are shaping up their options, Republicans must weigh who, if anyone, they want to run against fellow GOP incumbent Rep. David Valadao. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP Army veteran announces challenge to Democrat Vicente Gonzalez in South Texas congressional district
Eric Flores, a Republican Army veteran and lawyer from Mission, announced Monday he is running for Texas' 34th Congressional District, targeting Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen in a swing seat carried by President Donald Trump last year. Gonzalez won the district, situated on the Gulf Coast and stretching from Brownsville toward Corpus Christi, by nearly 3 percentage points — the closest margin of Texas' 38 congressional districts last November. It is one of just 13 House districts nationwide that elected a Democrat while being carried by Trump, making Gonzalez a top target for Republicans as they look to maintain their slim House majority in 2026. The prospect of Flores' candidacy has excited Republicans in Texas and Washington, due in part to his military and law enforcement credentials. Flores is a Rio Grande Valley native and Spanish speaker in a district that is over 90% Hispanic. He has held numerous public positions in South Texas, serving as a city attorney and municipal judge in Alton before a stint as assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas' criminal division in McAllen from 2021 to the beginning of this year. There, he prosecuted transnational human smuggling along the border — an issue he hopes to raise in the election. 'I was prosecuting at a time when there were thousands and thousands of undocumented aliens coming into the U.S.,' Flores said in an interview. 'They're here unlawfully, and [we were] just, quite frankly, letting them in. It's policies like that that I want to go to D.C. and change.' But Flores is not as hardline as some members of his party. He said he wants to push for immigration policy that makes sense for a region that has struggled with labor shortages, especially as the Trump administration's immigration raids targeting undocumented workers have ramped up. 'Something that I'm going to be championing in D.C. is to ensure — especially [for] our farmers, for our boat manufacturers, for our steel mills that we have down here — that they have the workers that they need, having an efficient legal process for that,' he said. Though the district has shifted rightward in recent elections, Republicans have been unable to replicate their success down the ballot. Democratic Senate nominee Colin Allred won the district by 6 percentage points in 2024, and Gonzalez, a moderate who has represented South Texas since 2017, has proven difficult to beat. He defeated Republican Mayra Flores in 2022 and in 2024 by single-digit margins. Mayra Flores, who is not related to Eric, has since announced a 2026 run in the nearby district of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. The boundaries of the 34th Congressional District, and others in the Rio Grande Valley, could be changed as Texas Republicans move to redraw the state's political lines in a special session that began Monday. South Texas — where Republicans have rapidly improved their margins with Hispanic voters — is a key area the GOP is targeting to flip seats, and the 34th District could be redrawn to include more Republican voters and become a friendlier seat for whoever captures the GOP nomination. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Gonzalez suggested that his old opponent could still end up running in his district — and pledged to beat either candidate. 'If Mayra comes back, she will be mopping the floor with him and every other Republican primary candidate,' Gonzalez said. 'So [Eric] needs to get in line before he gets to the general election. If our district doesn't move too much, we'll kick his or anyone else's ass, just as we have the 19 candidates before.' But if Republicans push the 34th District into Republican areas near Corpus Christi, Gonzalez could end up running in a district tilted more in favor of the GOP — a prospect he acknowledged. 'The only way Republicans can beat me is by cheating and changing the district maps,' he said. Flores lives in the neighboring 15th Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Edinburg. Members of Congress do not need to live in the district they represent, though doing so opens them up to criticism from opponents. The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Douglas County District Court Clerk announces congressional campaign
The Douglas County District Court Clerk announced her candidacy for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harlingen doctor becomes first Democrat to enter race for South Texas congressional seat
Ada Cuellar, a Harlingen-based emergency physician, launched her campaign for Texas' 15th Congressional District on Thursday, becoming the first Democrat to run for the South Texas seat that her party is targeting in the 2026 midterms. Anchored in Hidalgo County along the border and running north to the edge of San Antonio, the district — represented by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg — has been emblematic of Democrats' recent struggles throughout the Rio Grande Valley and with Latino voters generally. De La Cruz first won office in 2022, becoming the first Republican to represent the district after it was redrawn to favor Republicans. The seat has been in Democrats' crosshairs ever since. But South Texas was the epicenter of a national rightward shift in 2024 among Latinos, who make up about three-quarters of the 15th District's eligible voting-age population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. President Donald Trump was the first Republican to win Hidalgo County in decades, improving from a 28% vote share in 2016 to 51% last year. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will likely face an uphill battle. De La Cruz won reelection by 14 points in 2024, despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other national groups targeting it as a potential pickup. The district leans Republican by a 7-point margin, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index. While Cuellar — who has no relation to Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo — is the first candidate to officially announce, Tejano music star Bobby Pulido has also been floated as a potential candidate. Pulido said he planned to enter politics in 2026, and he has been heavily recruited by Democrats, according to Politico. Cuellar lives outside the district boundary, in the district of Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. She is from Weslaco and went to college in Edinburg. Members of Congress do not have to live in the district they represent, though residing outside the boundaries can open candidates to attacks from their opponents. De La Cruz is the only Texas Republican the DCCC currently lists among its 2026 targets. But the spectre of redistricting, which could put more seats in play and upend the state's political map, is hanging over both parties. South Texas is a key area where Republican map-drawers will likely try to draw friendlier seats by targeting De La Cruz's Democratic neighbors, meaning the contours of the 15th District could change. Under any new map, the district's population is likely to remain overwhelmingly Hispanic — meaning Democrats will need to reverse their recent slide to have any chance of recapturing the seat. Cuellar, a 43-year-old Rio Grande Valley native, believes Latino voters, in particular, were looking for change last cycle as they felt the bite of high costs fueled by inflation. She believes Democrats can position themselves as the party of change in 2026, especially on issues like health care, after Republicans including De La Cruz voted for Medicaid cuts as part of Trump's recently enacted megabill. 'People are frustrated with health care costs, inflation, the economy, how difficult it is to succeed,' Cuellar said. 'And I think a lot of frustrations were directed towards the Democratic Party.' Democrats flipped the U.S. House in 2018 — including through pickups in Texas — largely by talking about Republicans' efforts to quash the Affordable Care Act. Democrats hope to follow a similar playbook in 2026 by homing in on the Medicaid and ACA cuts in the megabill. Groups have been actively recruiting physicians like Cuellar to run for office as part of that pitch. During her campaign, Cuellar said she also plans to discuss the need for a county hospital and more doctors in the district, along with plans to make health care more affordable. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Harlingen doctor enters South Texas congressional race as Democrat Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
SCOOP: Former CIA officer, Air Force veteran launches GOP campaign for Dem-held Ohio district
First on Fox: Eric Conroy, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former CIA case officer, announced his campaign to represent Ohio's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. Speaking with Fox News Digital ahead of his announcement, the Cincinnati native said southwest Ohio deserves a "common-sense advocate" in Washington, D.C., who can help the city reach its full potential. Conroy criticized incumbent Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman as "anything but" that common-sense decision maker for Ohioans, tying Landsman's policy record to President Joe Biden's progressive agenda. "This is decision-making more along the lines of an AOC or a Nancy Pelosi and not someone from Southwest Ohio," Conroy said of the second-term Democrat. Ohio, once a reliable swing state, has shifted to the right over the past few election cycles. Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, a businessman and political outsider, defeated longtime incumbent Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024, securing a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. On the campaign trail, Moreno also tied his Democrat opponent's voting record to Biden's, capitalizing on Ohio's conservative shift. Conroy blamed the Democratic Party's "lack of initiative, lack of foundation, and lack of any real ideas" for Ohio's red wave. "Greg Landsman has been a part of that problem and a part of that party that has really failed to address any day-to-day issues that people are encountering. Instead, they are focused on promoting a far-left agenda, which does not put money back in their pockets or help them solve day-today issues," he explained. Landsman was elected to represent Ohio's 1st District in 2022, unseating former GOP Rep. Steve Chabot. The Democrat won his re-election campaign last year against Republican challenger Orlando Sonza, an Army veteran and former Hamilton County prosecutor. Conroy said he would bring a multi-faceted approach to representing Cincinnati in Washington, D.C., given his experience growing up locally, nationally in the U.S. Air Force, and internationally at the CIA's Directorate of Operations, leading intelligence missions around the world. "I'm running for Congress because I've seen the threats we face abroad and the struggles families face here at home. It's time for new leadership that will stand up to the extremes, restore common sense, and fight to make sure the American Dream stays within reach for every Ohioan," Conroy said. Core among Conroy's campaign promises are a commitment to building the economy, supporting law enforcement and securing the border. The Republican has also vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare, a hot-button issue heading into the 2026 midterm elections as Democrats seize on Republicans' Medicaid reform included in President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
