GOP hurls support behind progressive over Republican — and expert calls it a 'confession'

One of the largest political action committees aligned with House Republicans is backing a progressive Democrat in California running to unseat Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), a move that one political expert described as a "confession," according to a new report.

The Congressional Leadership Fund recently sent out mailers supporting progressive Democrat Randy Villegas, a college professor, as he competes against Democratic Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains in California's 22nd District, The Sacramento Bee reported. Some experts suggested that the move is intended to help Villegas win the race against Bains by turning moderate voters away from Democrats and toward Republicans.

But the move could also backfire, experts warned, as Valadao seeks to win his seventh election in a left-leaning district.

“This is not an accident, it’s a confession,” Erik Polyak, executive director of 314 Action, a group that boosts candidates with a background in science, told The Bee. “Republicans have done the math. They know that Dr. Bains is the stronger general election candidate.”

The Congressional Leadership Fund also appears to be taking a page from the Democratic playbook of the 2022 midterm election cycle. Democrats spent $19 million across nine states to boost MAGA candidates over moderate Republicans in hopes of drowning out tougher candidates, The Washington Post reported at the time.

It also speaks to how competitive California has become for Republicans hoping to court Latino voters. Latinos swung toward President Donald Trump by historic margins during the 2024 general election, but support for the president within the demographic group has cratered because of his immigration policies.

A Florida International University poll from April found 67% of Latino voters disapprove of Trump and feel that the country is on the wrong track.

“This is probably the one competitive seat in California — truly competitive,” Mike Madrid, a longtime Republican political consultant and a co-founder of anti-Trump The Lincoln Project, told The Bee. “So I think the Republicans have to pull all the stops to do anything that they can in a year that’s going to likely be a tough year for them.”