U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-LA, speaks to reporters outside his office at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Bernie Sanders are bringing a national focus to a Central Valley district that is one of the most competitive races in the country.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, and Sanders, an independent from Vermont, are holding dueling rallies in the same week in Bakersfield, a large city in the heart of California’s farm country, where Rep. David Valadao, an incumbent Republican, is fighting to hold on to his seat against Randy Villegas, a progressive first-time candidate. 

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Johnson spoke to a crowd of nearly 150 attendees in Bakersfield on Wednesday afternoon, according to his campaign, just days before Sanders is slated to speak in the same city on Sunday. Rep. Lance Gooden, a Republican from Texas, and Valadao were also at the Johnson rally.

Valadao’s district is 74% Latino, making those voters the primary demographic in the district. Proposition 50 reshaped the 22nd Congressional District to bring in more........

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