Bakersfield, California – When representative David Valadao, R -Calif., Was eliminated from his duties in 2018, the Democrats across the country led a wave of counterpoup against President Donald Trump and the GOP attempts to reduce health care.
Now, after Valadao provided a critical vote for a Tax plants and tax packages. Who have reduced Medicaid and food coupons, the Democrats see an opportunity to repeat in the Central California valley, where many low -income residents depend on social security net programs.
Valadao has already attracted at least two Democratic challengers to its battlefield district, which will be the key to the efforts of the Republicans to cling to their close majority in the mid-term elections next year. These include Jasmeet Bains, a doctor and a member of the California State Assembly who officially jumped in the race last week. She told NBC News that she was motivated by Valadao’s support for the bill and planned to make health care a decisive problem in the campaign against him.
“It is not something that I have ever imagined for me. I am a doctor,” said Bains about his decision to present himself at the Congress. “When I saw Valadao vote for the” big and beautiful bill “, I was shocked. Like everyone else. How could you do this in a district that has some of the highest needs? Some of the country’s highest patients in the country? ”
Randy Villegas, an administrator of the school board affiliated to the Family Family Day, also sets an offer in the 22nd district.
Even before his vote on the Megabill, Valadao was considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans to re -election in 2026. After losing in 2018, Valadao made a return offer and returned to the following cycle congress. But his vote for Trump’s bill could now put his siege swung even more in danger. The Valadao district has the largest share of beneficiaries and medicid households receiving food coupons represented by a republican in the congress, according to a NBC news analysis.
In an overview of the upcoming attack ads, House Majority Forward, a non -profit group aligned with Democratic leadership, and the League of Conservation Voters is launching new advertisements next week, hitting Valadao for its support for the bill, according to a familiar source with the problem.
The agricultural region rich in agriculture, which is based strongly on migrant agricultural workers, is also confronted with mass deportations that some fear disrupt the local economy and national food supply chains. Valadao urged Trump to prioritize the deportations of criminals on undocumented workers, but the administration sent mixed signals to his approach.
Everything has the community here on the edge.
“I’m really afraid. I’m worried,” NBC News told NBC News in an interview on the health cuts.
Valadao had repeatedly promised to oppose the “big and beautiful bill”, warning only a few days before the final adoption that he could not support the Senate product. But he ended up supporting this version without any change in the legislation.
When he was asked how he thought of Valadao’s vote, Garcia told NBC News: “betrayed.”
“If you are a politician and you will say that you are going to do something, you are counting on this politician to do something about this problem,” said Garcia. “Be a man of your word.”
Republicans argue that only those they say do not deserve to be on Medicaid, such as undocumented immigrants and valid adults who do not work, will be launched from the program. But Garcia said that the state Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, had already tried to remove it twice before, so that it fears that people are mistakenly swept away in all new changes or will have trouble sailing in the most frequent eligibility checks.
The budget office of the non -partisan congress The new law of Trump projected will increase the number of people without health insurance by 10 million by 2034.
The Valadao office said that the congress member was not available for an interview for this story. In a statement after the House vote on the bill earlier this month, Valadao defended its decision.
“I voted for this bill because it preserves the Medicaid program for its planned beneficiaries-children, pregnant women, disabled and elderly,” he said.
Christian Martinez, spokesperson for the National Republican Campaign Committee, said the bill for which Valadao had voted to “attenuate the burden of the Californians workers” and took a blow to Villegas and Bains.
“Their far left program will continue to destroy the economy of California, increase taxes and put illegal immigrants before California families,” said Martinez.
Valadao has already resisted his own party. In particular, he was one of the 10 Republicans in the Chamber who voted to dismiss Trump in 2021 after the attack on January 6 against the American Capitol. But Trump has since still tightened his grip on the party, even threatening to support the main challenges to the Republicans who hired his “big and beautiful bill”.
The draft of domestic policy is expanding Trump’s tax cuts in 2017, removes certain taxes on advice and overtime, and strengthens the financing of the application of immigration and soldiers. While legislation is generally unpopular in public pollsThe Republicans are betting once they start selling it, their members will be rewarded for supporting it.
Some owners of local businesses in the Valadao district praised the bill and praised Valadao for supporting it.
Rob Taylor, who has Stafford chocolates in Portersville in the past 14 years, said he thought that some of the bill of the bill will be a boon for small businesses like his.
“I appreciate Valadao who stands for him and his voters here,” said Taylor, who voted for Valadao in the past, at NBC News. “It’s not just a rubber stamp. He looks at both sides [of an issue]. “”
In order to partially pay the bill, the Republicans have chosen to reduce Medicaid and food coupons. This includes the Institute of New Work requirements for valid adults, renders it unacceptable undisading immigrants on the program and putting new restrictions on state providers, which is an important source of income for rural hospitals.
Moderate Republicans have pushed even higher cuts in Medicaid which had been in the mix during negotiations, such as the reduction in the federal cost sharing formula. But Valadao acknowledged that he still houses concerns about some of Medicaid changes, especially those who have an impact on rural hospitals.
Access to health care in rural areas can already be difficult. Often, the facilities depend on government aid to stay afloat. The Kern Hospital in Bakersfield, a social security net hospital, obtained 72% of its income from Medi-Cal patients.
Then there are rural health clinics, such as the Bakersfield American Indian Health Project, where Garcia receives some of her care. These clinics rely on various sources of income from the federal government and provide essential preventive care services to numerous low -income patients on Medicaid.
“There are no frills here.
Asked about the impacts of the Medicaid cuts, Chambers said: “He can be well intentioned, he can be fiscally healthy, but in the long term, I think it will cost more.”
