Rep. David Valadao, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, on Monday became only the second one to be reelected.
Valadao (R-Calif.) held a 3 percentage point edge over Democratic challenger Rudy Salas, a member of the state Assembly, in California's 22nd District when the race was called in his favor. The district is located in the state's Central Valley.
He had been first elected to Congress in 2012 in the 21st District. He was defeated for reelection in 2018 but regained the seat in 2020 and then shifted to the 22nd after redistricting.
Republicans had clinched a House majority last Wednesday. Valadao's victory gives them an edge of 219-212 in the next House, with four races still to be decided, one in Alaska (where the Democrat is ahead), one in Colorado (where the Republican is barely ahead but the Democrat has conceded) and two more in California (where the Republicans are slightly ahead).
Among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in early 2021, the only other winner was Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), who won decisively earlier this month after surviving a challenge from Trump-endorsed Republican Loren Culp in an all-party primary. Valadao had also made it out of an all-party primary.
Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Tom Rice (R-S.C.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) all lost their primaries. The other four — Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — did not seek another term.
