SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Both national Democrats and Republicans are touting recent fundraising reports as evidence their candidate has the upper hand in a heated Central Valley race for Congress.

Federal Election Commission filings show that, while Republican Rep. David Valadao holds a commanding cash advantage, Democratic progressive challenger Randy Villegas raised nearly twice as much money in the last few months.

The two men are locked into the general election race for California’s 22nd Congressional District, a seat expected to be one of the closest watched in the nation as it could determine control of the U.S. House. The district encompasses large parts of Tulare, Porterville, Wasco and Bakersfield.

Valadao, who has largely represented the region since 2012, reported about $3.37 million cash on hand. Villegas, after a tough primary election battle against Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, has roughly $572,000.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the House GOP, has repeatedly highlighted the cash gap in the last few days. In a written statement Monday, spokesperson Christian Martinez called Villegas “socialist stooge” who is “running broke.”

“Villegas should keep begging Gavin Newsom and his socialist allies to bail him out, because Central Valley voters clearly are not buying his radical agenda of higher costs, more dysfunction and the same failed Sacramento politics,” Martinez said.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, has focused on the latest fundraising totals. Villegas raised more than $1.3 million in the last filing period — April 1 to June 30 — compared to Valadao’s roughly $777,000.

Nearly 70% of those Villegas’ contributions came after May 14, reflecting a surge in donations leading up to and following his primary victory over Bains who initially had the DCCC’s backing. Villegas has pledged not to accept contributions from corporate political action committees.

“Randy Villegas is proving that the people of the Central Valley are ready to send David Valadao packing,” said DCCC spokesperson Anna Elsasser in a written statement.

Valadao has withstood several challengers in the Democratic-leaning Central Valley swing district since he first entered Congress. This year, he may face his toughest battle yet given district changes from Proposition 50’s redistricting, anger from his vote to slash federal Medicaid funding and low approval ratings for President Donald Trump.

The primary election results marked the first time Democratic votes are making up a majority in a primary with Valadao since 2018. Republicans have never improved their vote advantage from the primary to the general in the district in that timeframe.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a widely cited nonpartisan political analysis organization at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, noted these many hurdles last week when it changed its rating for the 22nd District from “tossup” to “leans Democratic.”

“This too appears to be a Democratic year, and Valadao is the one who needs to make history for his party in order to win,” wrote Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball.

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