Villegas Wins California's 22nd District Seat

ABC News projects Democrat Randy Villegas will defeat incumbent Rep. David Valadao, adding a Democratic seat in the U.S. House.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a simplified Capitol dome above golden hills, in deep red, cream, and navy, evoking California's House politics. — ABC News projected Democrat Randy Villegas will defeat Republican Rep. David Valadao in California's 22nd District, adding a Democratic seat in the U.S. House. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you think the U.S. military action against Iran was worth the costs?

ABC News projected Democrat Randy Villegas will win California's 22nd Congressional District over incumbent Republican David Valadao, and projected Rep. Adam Gray will win reelection in the 13th District. Villegas' projected win adds a Democratic seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Why it matters

The projected outcomes shift the partisan balance of California's House delegation and reflect the midterm dynamics Republicans are now debating. Vance has attributed the party's losses to the war in Iran, while Trump has said the war was necessary.

ABC News projected the outcome of two California House races based on the November 4, 2026 election, but the extraction provides no vote tallies or margins. Final certified results were not included in the source material.

The players

Randy Villegas

Democrat projected to win California's 22nd Congressional District, defeating incumbent David Valadao.

David Valadao

Republican incumbent in California's 22nd Congressional District who was projected to lose his seat.

Adam Gray

Democratic U.S. Representative projected to win reelection in California's 13th Congressional District.

Donald Trump

Current President of the United States who said the Iran war was necessary and that he would do it again.

JD Vance

Vice President of the United States who argued that the war in Iran was the reason Republicans lost the midterms.

The details

Trump said Vance's analysis that Republicans lost the midterms because of the war in Iran was largely true, and that the Iran war drove gasoline prices up in the short term. Trump also said he would do the Iran war again and that he would have won the election had he been on the ballot.

November 4, 2026: ABC News projects Gray and Villegas winning their House races.

Political Context

The projected flip of the 22nd District follows the pattern of Democratic gains in California's competitive House seats seen in the 2018 midterms. Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, have attributed their midterm losses to the war in Iran, a position Trump has described as largely true.

The projected outcome changes which party holds the 22nd District seat in the U.S. House, affecting the representation of California voters in that district. Residents of the district will see a new representative take office based on these projections.

The takeaway

Readers tracking California politics should watch for official certified results in the 13th and 22nd districts, since projections can differ from final counts. The Iran war has become a central point of dispute in explaining the midterm results.