Reprieve: Valadao Challenger Drops Out, Another Jumps In

I am not a big fan of David Valadao (R-Hanford).

Then again, he is probably the only kind of Republican who can win a district with a double-digit Democrat advantage like CD-21.

His sorest spot is immigration, in which he has been a vocal and unrelenting advocate for amnesty. That kind of thinking is all wrong.

But on many other issues, he has voted the right way.

So far, the main Democrat who was slated to run against him has dropped out.

Emilio Huerta, the son of labor icon Dolores Huerta, was an unpopular candidate unable to raise any kind of money:

The only Democrat running against a vulnerable California Republicanjust dropped out of House race

The lone candidate for a U.S House seat out of California that the Democrats consider a prime pickup opportunity for the midterms is ending his congressional bid.

Valadao has weathered every challenge in the last three election cycles. Election 2018 is the biggest push yet to get him thrown out of office. In spite of every effort, though, Democrats have simply been unable to get rid of this guy.

Let's hope that this latest setback makes it even harder. Huerta has the name ID as the Democrat going in, but now the next candidate has so much time to make up.

The Fresno Bee reported the news Sunday and said Emilio Huerta wrote in an op-ed that he would instead focus on helping other Democrats win election to various levels of government office.

Huerta, a lawyer and son of labor rights icon Dolores Huerta, was attempting to unseat GOP Rep. David Valadao for the second time in November. He lost to Valadao by 13 percentage points in 2016.

Good luck with all of that.

Here's a little more background about David Valadao:

A local dairy farmer, Valadao has focused on bringing more water to the Central Valley, something that plays well in an agricultural district hit hard by drought. He's also been willing to break with Republican leadership to push for immigration reform, most recently backing Democratic bills to resolve the legal status of people brought to the country illegally.

So, who is jumping into the race? T. J. Cox:

A new Democrat has stepped up to run against Rep. David Valadao

Cox was already running for Congress in the nearby 10th Congressional District, but faced a tough battle against a crowded field of Democrats who had more name recognition or more money.

Everyone is chomping at the bit to knock out Jeff Denham. He faced a hard campaign in 2016, but survived that political onslaught.

There are so many Democrats running against each other as well as Denham. I wonder if there is another Republican in the race, which could lead to a welcome Miller Effect!

Cox is now the only Democrat running for the seat. Emilio Huerta, a local lawyer and son of labor rights icon Dolores Huerta, dropped out of the race Sunday just days before the Friday deadline to file to run for office.

One Democrat challenging Valadao. The idea with this move is that the Hanford dairy farmer will face a tougher re-election fight.

But how much money does T. J. Cox have?

Cox announced the move to the 21st District in the Bakersfield Californian on Tuesday morning.

While living in the district isn’t a requirement to run for Congress, Cox had moved his voter registration from a home in Fresno to an apartment in Modesto in the 10th District. He said in July that he planned to move his family to Modesto.

Yeah, sure. We have a carpet-bagger, folks! That's not going to play well with Central Valley residents. They expect their legislators to be home-grown. Not working well.

Democrats consider the 21st District a top pickup opportunity in their quest to retake control of the U.S. House. The largely agricultural district is predominantly Latino, and backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. But Democrats face an uphill climb to unseat Valadao. Valadao has almost $1 million in the bank, and has fended off challengers since he was first elected in 2012. Cox had less than $300,000 in cash on hand at the beginning of the year, and has loaned his campaign more than $200,000.

OUCH! I predict that Valadao will hold onto this seat, no problem. Whether I like it or not, the fact that he speaks Spanish so well will help him better reach out to the voters in the district. Besides, ICE is clearing out all the illegal aliens, which will mean less voter fraud and government dependence.

Cox in 2011 founded Central Valley NMTC Fund, an organization that invests public and private funds in economically disadvantaged Central Valley communities. His campaign plans to highlight the group's projects, including community health clinics and agricultural education programs.

Final Reflection

I am not a big fan of Valadao's immigration stances. He signed off on the DACA Fix letter, and he has also pushed to grant illegals who somehow ended up in our military to receive citizenship. Sorry, but even that move is not right. There should be no illegals in the country to begin with, and it makes no difference what they may or may not have done for this country.

Still, the last thing that the United States House of Representatives needs is another Jim Costa liberal who wants to open up the borders while attacking our civil rights.

This setback for the Democratic Party in the Central Valley will bolster GOP chances of holding onto the House of Representatives, that's for sure.