It’s official— voters in California’s Central Valley have rejected the mainstream Democratic Party’s candidate backed by crypto-billionaires and AIPAC allies. They instead chose Randy Villegas, a 30-year-old son of immigrants who ran on immigrant rights and Medicare for all, to advance to the general election. This race was close– he won by less than 4,000 votes– and the organizing from SURJ and our partners at Dolores Huerta Action Fund, Seed the Vote, and Working Families Party helped clinch the victory!
Alongside our partners, we’re continuing our successful work in primaries across the country to send anti-billionaire, justice-aligned, working-class champions like Randy to Congress. Can you give a gift today to help power wins like this one the rest of the summer?
We know defeating Republicans in the midterms is not enough. We need true progressive candidates who not only stand up to MAGA, but who refuse to be bought and sold by Wall Street or Silicon Valley– who will fight for an agenda that actually delivers on just immigration policy, better healthcare, taxing the billionaires. Randy Villegas is one of those candidates, and we’re proud that over 100 SURJ members made nearly 90,000 voter contacts to help bring him over the finish line.
CA-22 is a working-class district where nearly 70% of people rely on Medicaid– the single largest proportion of Medicaid recipients in the country. When cuts go through in 2027, the majority of the district will be without or vastly underserved by healthcare, which David Valadao, the Republican incumbent, voted for.
And we heard this over and over again in conversations on our phonebanks and when we knocked doors with our partners at Seed the Vote and Dolores Huerta Action Fund. One of our phonebankers shared:
“Paulette, a voter I spoke with, hasn’t voted since 2016. She started off saying she doesn’t care about politics. As we continued talking, I learned she had cancer. I shared about Randy and his commitment to Medicare. She was all in. She’ll be voting for him in the primary.”
CA-22 is a majority people of color district– and SURJ did what we do best, taking responsibility for contacting the white, majority-working-class voters– 48% of the district– who have so much to gain from an agenda like Villegas’. Most of the people we spoke with vote infrequently, many relied on Medicaid like Paulette, and many had never heard of Randy Villegas.
This is SURJ’s organizing strategy at work: we know that working-class white voters have a shared interest in progressive, anti-racist, working-class agendas. We also know corporate Dems and the GOP are either counting these voters out or working to radicalize them the other direction. But our electoral results tell a different story: that white folks are fed up, need change, and ready to take action in solidarity as members of the working class.
In solidarity,
SURJ
Showing Up for Racial Justice
PO Box 1376
Buffalo, NY 14205
United States