Rep. David Valadao wins reelection in endangered Central Valley congressional seat
Rep. David Valadao wins reelection in endangered Central Valley congressional seat
April 17, 2017
POMONA, Calif. – Republican U.S. Rep. David Valadao has won reelection to a second term in a district that includes the Central Valley and the Bay Area.
Voters picked Valadao, who has served in Congress since 1995, against Democratic challenger Mark Kelly for the 39th Congressional District. Valadao received more than 62 percent of the vote to Kelly’s 37 percent.
Valadao will be running unopposed in California’s 39th Congressional District, the Cook Political Report said. In the newly drawn 39th Congressional District, Valadao won by a margin of more than 60 percent to Kelly’s 35 percent.
The seat, which had been held by retiring Democrat Pete Stark since 1993, is considered an endangered Democratic seat because it leans heavily Republican and has been held by Republicans for decades.
The 39th Congressional District includes communities from the Bay Area and the Central Valley in California.
In the new 39th Congressional District, Valadao will be running unopposed, the Cook Political Report said. In the newly created 39th Congressional District, Valadao won by a margin of more than 60 percent to Kelly’s 35 percent. The district was represented by Republican Pete Stark since 1993, but Stark lost to Valadao in the 2014 special election, and Stark’s party later changed his registration to Republican to take advantage of Valadao’s new political campaign.
Kelly, a federal prosecutor who worked on the San Jose Mercury News, challenged Valadao in 2014 at the age of 37 after Stark dropped out of the race and switched registration to Republican.
Valadao has received more than 62 percent of the vote in three previous unsuccessful campaigns for Congress. He has served on some of the most powerful House committees, including Appropriations Committee and Ethics Committee. His committee assignments include Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation Security Administration, Financial Services and General Government and Veterans Affairs. Valadao also serves on the Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, Intelligence and Energy committees.