California Democrat Running Against Republican Valadao Built Career on DEI and Student Activism

Randy Villegas, a political science professor and school board member seeking to unseat Republican Rep. David Valadao in California’s 22nd Congressional District, has built much of his career around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and student organizing efforts. The race between Villegas and the incumbent Valadao represents a major battleground in the Central Valley, with nonpartisan analysts rating the district a “toss-up” that could prove decisive in determining House control.

In a 2022 academic paper published by the American Political Science Association, Villegas and co-authors described diversity, equity and inclusion as fundamental to community college teaching and characterized it as a “social justice-driven duty.” The paper, titled “A Commitment to Teaching, Learning, and Student Advocacy: Community College Careers,” argued that community colleges’ commitment to accessibility and inclusion should extend beyond classroom walls into the surrounding communities where students live.

Villegas identified himself in his dissertation for the University of California, Santa Cruz as a “former community organizer and scholar activist.” Throughout that dissertation, titled “Voices from the Valley of Vulnerability,” he described participating in grassroots activism including May Day demonstrations, protests at immigration detention centers and community organizing around far-left causes.

In 2018, Villegas helped launch the Central Valley Freedom Summer, a program that connected students with community organizations for voter outreach and grassroots organizing on issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to immigration and racial inequality. Some program graduates later established their own activist groups, including LOUD for Tomorrow, described as a “queer and trans BIPOC youth-led” organization that has hosted youth drag events throughout the Central Valley.

The Republican National Committee criticized Villegas’ record, with spokesperson Nick Poche telling Fox News Digital that he represents “the radical left’s perfect woke freak” focused solely on advancing a far-left agenda. Villegas’ campaign declined to address questions about his statements regarding educators’ roles as social activists, instead launching attacks on Valadao’s voting record on healthcare and tax policy.

The Villegas campaign alleged that Valadao voted for President Donald Trump’s tax and spending package that included roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, potentially affecting tens of thousands of residents in a district heavily dependent on Medi-Cal coverage. Democrats have seized on that vote as evidence of Valadao’s willingness to harm vulnerable Valley families.