The majority of the 10 House Republicans who supported Donald Trump’s second impeachment have been subject to his fury, which has threatened their careers. David Valadao, not him.
However, the 45-year-old Republican from California isn’t cruising to victory. In the Central Valley of the state, which is heavily agricultural, a serious Democratic rival is seeking to unseat him in a district that has grown bluer as a result of redistricting.
Even if Trump continues to avoid him, Valadao still needs support from the former president’s supporters to win. If they choose not to participate in the impeachment vote, this could further jeopardise their chances.
But Valadao didn’t reveal during an interview while driving his white pickup truck through the farming district of his hometown’s sun-dappled fields, whether he views that vote as a significant campaign complication.
After the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, he confessed, “I had a lot of folks that obviously weren’t thrilled about that.” Additionally, some of them have publicly stated in interviews with the press that they would support me in the general election but not in the primary.
According to Valadao, his attitude has resulted in “a little bit of a wash” between the Republicans he has alienated and the Democrats he may have won over.
However, it’s difficult to repeat some of his unique strategies for avoiding the political fallout that devastated his fellow House Republicans who supported impeachment: They demand a lot of breathing room from other GOP members as well as a little Kevin McCarthy.
According to numerous sources close to House leadership, the House minority leader, who also happens to be Valadao’s district neighbour, has urged Trump not to intervene to defend his fellow Californians.
These individuals, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss private conversations, claim that the GOP leader started stressing to Trump before the 2020 election how competitive Valadao’s district is.
The recent primary contest between Valadao and Chris Mathys, a MAGA candidate who attempted to use Valadao’s vote for impeachment as a weapon, worked well.
Mathys never received a Trump endorsement, which may have been disastrous. And Valadao barely defeated his Republican opponent to obtain a berth in the general election, while Democrat Rudy Salas successfully consolidated Democratic votes to win the “jungle” primary.
Valadao, who is renowned within the conference as a reserved and introspective member devoted to his district, merely mentioned that he had heard of a campaign by his allies to dissuade Trump from participating in the primary—a campaign in which he chose not to get involved.
“I remained hunched over. I paid attention to managing my district, said Valadao. It was a straightforward message to Trump, according to him, coming from others, “even from those who worked in the government before”: “This race, this type of seat, was not an easy seat to win.”
According to McCarthy, Valadao benefited from the Mathys challenge because some GOP supporters who were enraged by the incumbent’s vote to impeach could vent their anger in the primary before switching their support to him in the general election.
“The seat is hard. Keep in mind that we lost it and could only recover it with him, McCarthy stated in a recent interview. He works hard and completes tasks without fuss.
Trump’s quiet on the Valadao situation stands in stark contrast to his actions during earlier House GOP primaries where incumbents had defied him in ways that were even less significant than an impeachment vote.
Rep. John Katko (R-NY), who is retiring, is the only other one of the ten pro-impeachment Republicans who didn’t see Trump support their main opponent — and even that wasn’t for want of trying on Trump’s part.
Of course, the former president could alter his mind and try to attack Valadao ahead of his general election contest with Bakersfield-area state assemblyman Salas.
However, that would go against the perception among Republicans as a whole that Valadao is essential to the party’s hopes of a wave victory in November.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a former director of the House Republican campaign, declared, “When he decides to leave that seat, we’re not going to be battling for it in a serious sense.”
We all agree that he is in a strong position, therefore he has a lot of freedom to cast his ballot anyway he sees fit.
During a simulated swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gives Rep. Connie Conway the House oath while Rep. David Valadao holds the Bible.
Minority Whip Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo More gushing praise came from Steve Scalise (R-La. ): “David has always managed to thread the needle in an extremely tough district.”
In the year or so since he delivered his vote to impeach Trump, Valadao has also maintained a notable lack of public commentary, echoing his taciturn stance on other contentious conference topics.
While Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) has established herself as the former president’s number one GOP enemy and Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) has expressed no remorse for his repeated criticisms of the president after losing his reelection bid last month, Valadao would prefer to discuss water and broadband access in his district.
Even Salas refrained from commenting on whether he believed Valadao’s reelection will be affected by the impeachment vote in any manner.
In an interview with a reporter in the heart of Bakersfield, Salas said, “When I have been talking to folks, we have talked about healthcare, for example.”
Based on the results of the 2020 election, the district that the two men are contesting now has a 13-point pro-Biden tilt, up from an 11-point pro-Biden lean before redistricting.
To that end, Salas has attempted to criticise Valadao for failing to exhibit “courage” by going against the grain on other initiatives, like last year’s bipartisan infrastructure package, that only garnered a small number of House Republicans.
Despite the criticism of his voting history, Valadao has dismissed it. He also has a potentially effective line of attack against it: Salas’ avoidance of inquiries regarding his voting intentions if he were elected.
Salas said he would “certainly want to look at” Democrats’ compromise voting rights bill in a January interview with a local conservative radio talk show host, but he did not say if he would support it.
When questioned about the now-defunct party-line Democratic spending and climate plan known as “Build Back Better,” he responded in a similarly vague manner.
Salas declined to say whether he would back Biden in 2024 in an interview with POLITICO earlier this month in Bakersfield. Salas first said that he hadn’t been asked to support the president before adding that it might depend on whether Biden runs for office again.
Salas said when informed that Biden and his supporters had made it clear they want for him to run for office again: “Honestly, I haven’t really given that really much thought to it. No one has questioned me because I’ve been concentrating on the campaign.
Salas was present but did not vote for about 300 of the first roll-call votes, according to a count of more than 430 state assembly votes Salas has missed since 2013.
Members of that California body occasionally employ a method that enables them to skip the first vote and then come back — after their votes would officially count — to express their opinions on a particularly contentious issue.
Salas referred to the pattern as his custom of only voting on proposals at the state level that had reached their final draughts.
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Salas remained silent when asked about the criticism he has received from Republicans for not being clear about how he would vote if elected. He stated that the Central Valley families always come first in his selections.
