“My time in service has been dedicated to fighting for the people who grow our food, produce our gas, teach our children, and care for our seniors.... In the Assembly, I won overtime for farm workers, lowered the cost of medicine, and made drinking water safer. I was the only Assembly Democrat to vote against the gas tax, and I stood up against leaders in my own party to increase funding for law enforcement and protect oil and gas jobs.” Campaign Announcement Press Release, Washington Examiner, 7/17/23

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BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE

Salas graduated from UCLA with degrees in History and Political Science. His passion for public service and good governance led him to work at the White House, the State Capitol as a legislative staffer, and ultimately back to the Central Valley where he was a District Director, and in 2012 served as the first Latino City Council member in Bakersfield.

 

First elected to the California State Assembly in 2012, Rudy Salas represented the 32nd District serving California’s Central Valley until ‘22.  

 

As an Assembly member, Salas was named “Legislator of the Year” by California 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatchers, California Police Chiefs Association, the American GI Forum of California, the California Issues Forum, the California Latino Capitol Association Foundation, the Foundation for Independent Living Centers, and the California Optometric Association.

 

In his last term in the Assembly, Salas served on these committees: Military and Veterans Affairs, Water, Parks & Wildlife, Governmental Organization, Business and Professions, and chaired the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

 

ON THE ISSUES
If elected to Congress, Rudy Salas’ priorities will include lowering drug prices, increasing health care access, economic development in the Central Valley, providing clean water to all, maximizing public safety, and improving women’s health care. Detailed policy positions associated with each of these can be found on the Rudi Salas campaign website.

 

These priorities are consistent with Salas’ track record in the California Assembly. He consistently stood for Central Valley families and the interests of the region, and his experience demonstrates that he will be an effective legislative leader in Congress.

 

For example, as California struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, Salas was instrumental in obtaining hundreds of thousands of pieces of protective equipment for frontline workers, not only in hospitals but for those caring for farm workers in the fields. As California recovered from the economic toll of the pandemic, Salas boosted the region by securing more than $50 million in dedicated investment for Central Valley projects. These projects will expand local nursing programs and construct an emergency response center, a cooling center, clean water wells, and new construction at Bakersfield College, Delano. It will support building leadership for the Temperance Flat Reservoir project.  

 

Salas has been a leader in addressing  Valley Fever, delivering $10 million for research and outreach to combat this regional fungal infection. He authored legislation that makes reporting and resources more readily available to workers and saved Kern Medical Center from closing.

 

To expand educational opportunities in healthcare and nursing, Salas worked collaboratively with the city of Bakersfield and CSU Bakersfield to bring millions of dollars to expand the student population, hire more teachers, and construct new campus buildings. He stood up for the Central Valley in Sacramento authoring legislation to reform the Employment Development Department (EDD), protecting veterans from discrimination, increasing pipeline safety, and more.

 

POLITICS IN CALIFORNIA

CA 22 includes much of the City of Bakersfield extending northward toward, but not including, Fresno.

 

Rudy Salas is challenging incumbent David Valadao in District 22. He already faced Valadao in ‘22 in a race Valadao won by 3%. In California's “top two” primary on March 5, Valadao and Salas received 33% and 30.5% respectively.

 

Had CA22 been designed in its current form prior to redistricting in the Presidential election of 2020, Joe Bidden would have receive d 55.3% of the vote and Trump 42.3% making this a strongly favorable Biden+13 district. Valadao was one of 20 Republicans to win in 2022 in a district that Biden won in 2020.

 

Rudy Salas believes his Latino heritage gives him a better understanding of CA22 because the district is 61% Latino. Valadao is the son of Portuguese immigrants.

 

Valadao previously served several terms in CA 21 before his ‘22 success in CA22.  

He casts himself as “an independent member of Congress who will stand up to the divisive partisanship…”  A dairy farmer, he focuses on agricultural issues particularly access to water- a key issue in the Central Valley. Valadao was one of eight Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after January 6th. But Valadao voted with Trump 97% of the time (according to 538) during the Trump’s presidency. Valadao is receiving strong financial backing from the national Republicans.

 

CA22 is considered one of the most crucial races in the nation for control of Congress in ‘25. Politico, for example, has opined that a Salas “win is a crucial component of Democrats’ quest to retake the House...” (3/13/24)